Love211
by LoriHuCalmia
Summary: Kurt can't solve this alone. "How long did you think you could keep it secret, Blaine?" Based on a true story of sex slavery. HUGE WARNING FOR PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE! Suspension of disbelief required for some characters. 2nd in L-verse.
1. Girl

_This will be a really long author's note because I have so much to explain. This takes place right after the last chapter of Little Earthquakes. We see more of New Directions, and I introduce an OC because Lima doesn't have a police officer character (Santana doesn't legally count) so I figured I'd make one! Pearl and Anna are characters from an original fantasy novel I wrote and am still looking for a publisher for. As they are characters from a fantasy novel, they'll do a couple things that won't make sense, but Blaine and Kurt will be too wrapped up in each other to notice, so you probably will be too._

_Disclaimer: I don't own "Law and Order" (Samantha Silver and Ezra Lowenstein), "CSI: New York" (Aidan Burn and DJ Pratt), or "Glee" (everyone else except Anna Yu and Pearl Rush). As characters from other shows come up, I'll point them out, but only once since I really don't want to end up with a disclaimer longer than the actual chapter. I also don't own the song "Girl," once again by Tori Amos._

* * *

><p><em>"From the shadow, she calls.<br>And in the shadow, she finds a way.  
>And in the shadow, she crawls."<em>

Chapter I: Girl

Saved by the bell? More like "saved by the clock." Blaine was glad he got away with answering Kurt's question. No one in his right mind would want to see the scars Blaine were hiding underneath his clothes.

Unfortunately, the topic was once again broached during breakfast.

"So, Blaine, why do you always keep the lights off when we have sex?" Kurt asked, swallowing daintily before speaking.

Blaine, however, could never be so graceful. He nearly choked on his pancakes, and when he finally stopped coughing, he was too busy thinking up a lie to realize that his stack of pancakes was half-gone. "Mood lighting," he said finally. Or maybe he said "Moon Libya," his mouth was so full.

Kurt laughed, and Blaine once again prematurely thanked his lucky stars (and maybe cursed them a little too) that his boyfriend didn't seem to care.

* * *

><p>Pearl sometimes wondered what life would be like if her sister had never run off with the Tully boy, leaving her alone with her schizophrenic mother and neglectful father. She wondered what her life would be like if her parents had stayed in New York, where they might have eventually forgiven Calanthe for her Vegas wedding instead of dying in 911. Well, only her father had died, but her mother had disappeared, so she might as well have. Regardless, what she wondered most of all was what would have happened if she had never been adopted by two members from her former (and maybe current) gang. Samantha Silver had been sexually abused by her father when her mother was declared an unfit parent by the state. Ezra Lowenstein's father had abused his wife, who in turn took her anger out on Ezra. Pearl's parents had treated her the way their parents treated them. Samantha would regularly enter the shower or bed when Pearl was in it, and Ezra's last name should have been "Lightning;" it would have described his fists. Pearl had lived with them during the worst year of her life, which was still not quite as bad as what she was seeing on the x-ray screen.

"So, you managed to put together in 36 hours what thirteen doctors, nine pediatricians, and eight hospitals haven't managed to put together in three years," Anna said when she walked into the hospital room.

Pearl didn't look at her, choosing instead to focus on the x-rays. "That's because those thirteen doctors, nine pediatricians, and eight hospitals didn't have all the information in the same place," she said.

"The FBI really does watch us," Anna smiled from the doorway until Pearl waved the psychotherapist to a chair she had brought inside the room.

Taking out a manila folder, the agent flipped to a particular page. "Parents are getting smarter nowadays. Dr. Swan noticed when I was coming to her so often for a broken ribs, black eyes, fractured limbs, malnutrition, and stuff like that. But when you visit one doctor for a few months, then another, then another, they each assume that you're going through a clumsy phase and it doesn't raise any red flags."

"And we haven't even gotten to the sexual abuse yet," Anna looked sad.

* * *

><p>"Okay, guys," Will clapped once, "it's the first week of school, so why don't we take it easy. We're going to do a duets project, and it's going to be about heroes."<p>

Brittany raised her hand.

"Yes, Brittany," Will stifled a sigh.

"I don't know any good songs about sandwiches."

"No, Brittany, we're not singing about sandwiches. We're singing about idols," Kurt explained without stifling a sigh.

"So we have to fall a lot?" Brittany asked.

The class collectively groaned. This was going to be a very difficult assignment. So much for starting the year off easy.

* * *

><p>"What excuse did the parents use the last time?" Anna asked.<p>

"They said that he was playing with the fan, trying to get a piece off for a toy plane, when he fell and landed on a potato on the table," Pearl said. "They claimed that the potato went up his ass, and that caused the tearing. I'm paraphrasing, of course."

Anna snorted. "The doctor believed that shit?"

Pearl shrugged. "Ezra got away telling people that I got my spiral fracture trying to get something off the top of the garage door."

Anna sighed and shook her head at the injustice of it all. "Wealthy people don't want to think that their neighbors could do something like this. They think only those who live in the projects could possibly be so cruel. And in projects, people are too busy earning money to keep their heads above water to pay attention to their neighbors." She looked up at Pearl sharply. "People abused as children are more likely to abuse their own children."

"Unless the hospital has something to tell me," Pearl said testily, "I can't have children and Aidan Burn wasn't a mother."

Anna nodded, backing off the subject. "You know," she added softly, "it's not good for a detective to be so emotionally involved."

"I'm not emotionally involved! I've met the boys once!" Pearl snapped.

"You were sexually and physically abused, you were raped, you were bullied, you're lesbian, and you're…well, kind of like me. I just want to make sure that you're not taking the Anderson case the wrong way," Anna refused to back off.

"I'm not lesbian, I'm pansexual. I was never bullied, and believe me, I'm nothing like you. As far as the abuse went, well, I have CIPA," Pearl said, turning away.

"That doesn't take away the pain of knowing that your parents wanted to inflict it upon you," Anna said softly. "You don't have to pretend like your life was perfect just because you're rich. That's probably Blaine's excuse too."

Pearl turned to face Anna, determination blazing in her eyes. "I'm not the victim here, not this time."

Anna smiled. "Aidan was a lucky woman to have had you."

Pearl didn't smile back. "I was a lucky woman to have had Aidan. She's spoiled me for other people. I mean, the only other person I've married was a serial killer."

Switching the topic, Pearl smiled—or maybe grimaced—at Anna. "Now, if only New York could adopt the death penalty already," she said, half jokingly, half wistfully. "DJ Pratt could die and I could start being happy."

"While I wait for you to realize that seeing the man who killed your wife die will not make you happy," Anna began, "I'm going to focus on the case ahead of us. We're going to have to fight both victim and perpetrator to get justice."

"Times like these make me glad I'm friends with the girlfriend of the Chief of Police," Pearl smiled at Anna, who was in fact dating Paul Gallego.

They fell into an amicable silence, looking through x-rays, flipping through charts, and if Pearl noticed how many calls from Paul that Anna was ignoring, she didn't comment on it.

* * *

><p>"Alright, guys," Kurt rolled his eyes. He swore Mr. Schuester was a broken record. "We're going to practice 'Born This Way' one more time."<p>

"I'm on the right track baby, I was born this way!" Kurt sang to the supposedly empty auditorium. He looked around at his friends, who were quickly becoming his family, and sighed in near contentment. He was extremely glad to be back, but…he sighed again, less than happy. He missed Blaine more than even the Rachel-esque diva in him expected. The older boy had been soothing even before he had been romantic, and while McKinley was fun, Kurt missed having his rock around.

Unfortunately, the day didn't get any easier for Kurt after class. This year, Mercedes had very few classes with him, and Kurt found himself walking to AP French 3 alone, as he didn't doubt that Puck and Finn wouldn't even know what French was. That was why, when he felt the hand on his shoulder, he jumped. He also immediately relaxed, because it was only Blaine.

"Sorry it took me so long," Blaine smiled the smile that always got Kurt's heart jumping. "I couldn't find a parking spot."

Kurt frowned. "But hardly anyone here drives their car…" he trailed off as a thought struck him, and turned to peer out the window. He cursed.

Blaine chuckled. "Kurt Hummel, swearing? This is a day for the history books."

Kurt shot him a dirty look, and replied, "Some ignoramus painted 'FAG' over half the parking lot."

Blaine stopped smiling. "I know," he said. "I saw."

Kurt swallowed, taking out his phone.

"Who are you calling?" Blaine asked suddenly.

"Agent Rush. This should be reported somewhere, and she was so nice on Saturday," Kurt answered.

Blaine suddenly felt uneasy. "Wait, what happened on Saturday?"

Kurt frowned, remembering the questions Pearl asked. "She came by, said she had a case nearby."

Blaine relaxed, satisfied that his secret was safe for now. "Your performance was amazing, Kurt," Blaine's voice was wistful. "You…I'm sorry the Warblers never gave you a chance to shine. When you were on that stage, it was like there was no one else on there."

"I don't need the Warblers to shine," Kurt blushed. "I just need you. That's the reason I was shining onstage. But why are you here on a Thursday?"

"I missed you too much," Blaine laughed.

"I threatened to beat him with my gavel if he didn't take his melodramatic sighing somewhere else," Wes added.

"I thought I was keeping that to myself," Blaine muttered.

Wes laughed uproariously, and Blaine pouted.

Kurt laughed too, touched that Blaine was actually pining over him. "Come on," Kurt linked arms with his boyfriend. "I'll show you something that might cheer you up." He dragged Blaine to his locker.

Blaine blinked at the magazine cutout letters that spelled COURAGE right underneath a framed copy of Blaine's yearbook picture.

"Wow, Kurt," Blaine swallowed. "When you asked for a picture, I didn't expect it to be for this."

"I had it at my Dalton locker too," Kurt said, a little self-conscious.

"Kurt, I have to say this," Blaine began, but Kurt never got to hear what Blaine had to say, because Karofsky and Azimio came by that very second, for once not wearing their varsity jackets, and the latter shoved Blaine hard into a set of lockers. Blaine and Karofsky froze when they saw each other in street clothes.

"It's you!" they both whispered. Azimio looked between Karofsky and Blaine and started to laugh. Blaine froze for a few seconds, utterly terrified. Those few seconds were all Azimio and Karofsky needed to pick up Kurt and carry him kicking and screaming to the dumpsters. The thud of the lid slamming over him reverberated in Blaine's very bones. The jocks walked by him, Karofsky slamming into Blaine shoulder so hard, he nearly knocked the boy over.

"I'll deal with you later, you little pussy," Karofsky whispered in the short boy's ear. Blaine began to shake, pale, but he opened his eyes and composed himself quickly after the football meatheads high-fived each other and walked away. He struggled to look over the edge of the dumpster.

"Kurt, are you okay?" his heart broke at the sight of his boyfriend crying. "Kurt?"

"I'm **not** okay. My life is over!" Kurt wailed. Sam and Mercedes walked over to check out the commotion. "This sweater took me two months to save up for!" he sniffed as Blaine pulled him out. He snuck a look at Blaine to see the smile he was sure would be on the shorter boy's face, but instead found a stern grimace. "Blaine, what's wrong?" Kurt thought about Anna and Pearl's words. Was there something Blaine needed to say?

"How often does this happen?" Blaine asked, ignoring Kurt's question altogether.

"What did you do to my boy?" Mercedes Jones could be more fearsome than Santana sometimes, and Blaine turned comically pale.

"He didn't do anything, Mercedes," Kurt spoke up in defense of his boy. "Karofsky and Azimio were worried I've forgotten the finer points of dumpster diving."

Something in Blaine's eyes worried Kurt. "So, they've done this before?"

Kurt shrugged uncomfortably. "No. I don't know what's wrong with them today."

"This happens to Kurt almost every day," Mercedes interrupted. "Don't let that innocent face fool you."

Kurt glared at Mercedes, so he couldn't stop Blaine from running after the football players.

"Hey, you look at me when I'm talking to you!" Blaine yelled.

"I thought you homos were gone for good," Azimio cracked his knuckles.

"I thought you bullies were gone for good," Blaine wished Santana were here. As much as he hated the idea of hurting someone else, he hated the idea of Kurt getting hurt much more. However, it looked like that was what would have to happen, since neither of them were within sight.

"What?" Azimio's face was derisive, Karofsky's terrifying.

"Don't you dare touch my boyfriend again, ever, or you will regret it," Blaine said through gritted teeth.

Karofsky's fist came out of nowhere, and Blaine felt a sharp, burning pain across his face. He knew from the whistling sound when he breathed that it was broken.

"DON'T!" Kurt ran forward, and Karofsky's hand curled into a fist again.

* * *

><p><em>CIPA stands for congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis, or the inability to feel even extreme heat, cold, and pain, or any nerve-related sensations (like the need to use the bathroom), and the inability to sweat. Most children born with this nervous disorder (and congenital means "from birth") rarely live past age 3, and those who survive childhood rarely live past 25, because babies don't understand that fire is hot, snow is cold, and the inability to sweat (the body's way of cooling itself) puts a person at risk of literally frying herself to death. Also, CIPA puts a person at extreme risk of injury because she won't know that she's injured, which can make the injury worse.<em>

_And if you're wondering, Wes stayed in the gym and was interrogated by Rachel._

_Like? Hate? Suggestions? Review!_


	2. Picking Up Pieces

_First, thank you, KiKiKaKes and Nicky for your love for the first chapter. I must admit this is much, much longer than I thought (I actually have to edit each chapter to make sure they don't go above 2500 words, because I don't want to strain anyone's eyes by making them read too much in one sitting, no matter what the length of my author's notes say._

_Second, 1gleefan, I was not the UC Berkeley student (thank goddess, I don't think I could've survived). I don't know who she is, where she lives, or her real story. Blaine's is a bunch of horrifying true accounts that I gathered from research. Good job reading backwards, though, you're the first person to get the names._

_Third, I don't own the song "Picking Up Pieces" by Blue October or the character of Aimi/Amanda. I'm the one who gave her a name, she's actually the pretty nurse (literally, that's her name in the show) House seeks to replace Cameron. I don't own "House."_

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><p><em>"I want to be your perfect stick of glue,<br>But I don't feel perfect at all,  
>Sad and insecure fall."<em>

Chapter II: Picking Up Pieces

Blaine stood up and used the hand not pressed to his nose to push against Kurt's chest to keep the boy from getting closer. Slowly, the bullying jock lowered his hand and walked away.

"It's okay," Blaine's words were slightly slurred. "I just need to see a nurse. I'm not even bleeding," his words were ridiculously cheerful.

Kurt touched Blaine's nose gently and Blaine did his best not to flinch when Kurt's fingers brushed against it, burning his flesh. He flinched anyway.

Kurt gasped and suddenly hooked his arm with Blaine's. They walked to the nurse's office together, the taller boy ignoring his boyfriend's slurred protests.

"My boyfriend broke his nose," Kurt spoke to the nurse, Gordana, as if he were announcing the Queen of England's deadly cancer diagnosis.

"Well, have him sit down," the nurse's bored monotone was a complete 180 from Kurt's earlier tone. "Here's some ice," she reached inside a cupboard underneath the counter behind her, grabbed a Ziploc bag, opened the freezer on top of the counter, grabbed a few ice cubes, opened the bag, and tossed them in, all with one hand, not taking her eyes off the screen or even pausing her typing, and tossed the bag at Kurt.

"Thanks," Kurt said sarcastically. Gordana didn't even notice.

Blaine looked at Kurt sadly, "You have to deal with her on a daily basis?" He spoke loudly, trying to see if Gordana would actually hear and take offense. He wasn't sure on the first part, but Gordana didn't acknowledge his words, and he gave up.

"No," Kurt's words hurt. "Usually, I don't get hurt as badly as you just were."

Blaine took it and put it against his nose, the pain getting worse. He was sure he could smell the coppery scent of blood.

Kurt huffed and pulled out his phone, hoping Blaine didn't think this school was cheap. Actually, the school **was** cheap, so who cared?

Blaine noticed that Kurt was about to call the hospital, so he reached out and closed one hand on Kurt's wrist.

"Don't," he said. Well, slurred.

"Why not?" Kurt demanded. "Your nose is **broken**, Blaine. You need more medical attention than a bag of ice cubes!"

"And I will get it," Blaine looked Kurt straight in the eye, "but I don't go to the Lima Hospital, and I can just call my family doctor to see me at home later. Right now, I have more important things to attend to."

"What could possibly be more important than your health right now, Blaine?" Kurt demanded.

This time, Blaine didn't have to words to respond, he simply began walking out of the nurse's office. "Come with me," Blaine motioned for Kurt to follow him out of the nurse's office. Okay, I lied; he **did** have some words to respond.

When Kurt and Blaine left Gordana's office, the nurse had a few choice words to respond to them as well.

"Don't forget to return the bag!" she yelled, sounding more concerned than when she had realized Blaine was hurt.

Blaine tossed the bag over his shoulder and it landed on her desk. The bag broke, scattering ice cubes and splashing water over a desk cluttered with undone paperwork, candy wrappers, and take out containers. Gordana walked out of the office, cursing after the boys.

"My paperwork's ruined, you assholes!"

Blaine and Kurt ignored her as the latter followed the former into Miss Pillsbury's office. McKinley, to save money, hired only one counselor.

"Why are we here?" Kurt asked, confused.

Blaine swallowed a thick wad of blood. "I would like to transfer to McKinley High as soon as possible, please."

Now it was Kurt who did not have the words to respond to Blaine.

Oh, fine, I lied again.

"What the fuck, Blaine?"

* * *

><p>"Blaine, you know how going to a public school will affect your chances of going to college," Mrs. Anderson was disapproving.<p>

"I know, but this way, you'll have me home a lot more, and people are much less likely to pay attention," Blaine said persuasively.

Mrs. Anderson bit her lip and turned to her husband. "What do you think?" she asked waspishly. It was all for show. Mr. Anderson ran the show. Everyone knew it.

Slowly, he got up. "If Blaine wants to give us more of his time, let him," he said finally. Blaine didn't know whether to be relieved that he could protect Kurt better or terrified that he would have more sessions. No, actually, he wouldn't have more sessions. He'd be giving up a few, after all. Ever since he convinced Dalton to let him pay a portion of Kurt's tuition, he had had to take a few extra sessions. Going out to actively seek the people who had taken so much from him was the most awkward experience of his life, but he had persevered and the look in Kurt's face when he realized he was safe was worth every single session he had sought. Of course, his parents were a little upset when people stopped coming by to look for him, but Blaine felt about as much toward them as he did his clothing. They were merely there. They were near him, but not a part of him. And as long as he lived with them, they never would be. He wished he could stop living with them now.

His wish would be granted very, very soon.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe he transferred here just to keep you safe!" Sam was very happy for his friend. "That's totally romantic, dude."<p>

"I wish he hadn't," Kurt sighed. "Now I'm just going to spend all my time worrying about him."

"I'm worried about him too," said Puck. "I've got some words to say to that pretty boy, and he better listen good."

"Puck!"

"What?" Puck shrugged off Kurt's protest.

"I must confess that I am also worried about our newest addition," Rachel began. "After the regrettable Jesse debacle, it has become clear to me that males who transfer are not to be trusted."

Everyone rolled their eyes. Rachel's comments were no longer even taken seriously. Well, unless it was about choreography.

"Seriously, Kurt, it's been a really awful couple of years for you. I hope you're happy," Tina said.

"Yeah," Mike seconded Tina's opinion.

"I'm still not sure he should sit next to Santana," Artie brought up a topic that had been touched on earlier.

Santana merely smirked.

"Well, if Blake truly loves Kurt, he should have no trouble sitting next to anyone," Quinn said, her usual conniving smile in place.

"It's Blaine, Quinn," Kurt corrected.

"I've always wanted a pair of dolphins," Brittany said.

Everyone turned to her, and someone might have said something that would've earned her or him a smack by Santana, but Finn Hudson chose that moment to pant into the room. "Guys, I need your help."

"What's the matter?" Mike asked, standing up immediately.

The single word that dropped from Finn's mouth stopped Kurt's heart and drove Lauren and Puck out of the room.

"Blaine."

* * *

><p>"Excuse me," Pearl said at the front office. "Could you point me to Blaine Anderson's room?"<p>

"Family only, he's in critical condition," the receptionist responded.

Pearl flashed her badge to give leverage to her access.

"I'm sorry, but he is in very critical condition," the receptionist would not budge.

Pearl sighed and reached into her purse. Sometimes, she was glad she went undercover that one year in New York with Greg House. Other times, she would do anything to take away her habit of throwing out sarcastic comments at random moments. In the next five minutes, she would feel both.

"I'll show you the way," the receptionist walked Pearl down to Blaine's room. His disapproving sniff told the agent that she did not belong here. Pearl ignored him and only stopped when she walked into the nurse, and froze.

"Aimi?"

Amanda stopped and stared at the ex-girlfriend who had disappeared off the face of the Earth after working in the New Jersey Hospital with her years ago.

* * *

><p>"I was at my locker," Finn began. "I didn't see Blaine leaving AP Calculus, but I did see Karofsky and Azimio leaving the gym."<p>

"And?" Kurt was pacing a train into the carpet of his living room. After visiting hours were over, he had had no choice but to go back home.

Finn sighed. "Karofsky stopped and said something about having seen Blaine somewhere before."

"Well of course," Kurt snapped, thinking of the disastrous day after the jock had kissed him and Blaine had driven all the way from Westerville to comfort him.

"I don't think that's it. You know the phrase 'fall to pieces' or something? Blaine looked like he did that. I don't know," Finn gave up trying to explain. "But Azimio knew, and he started to laugh at Blaine. They said something about Blaine's parents, and Karofsky—he went berserk on the guy. And Azimio helped."

Kurt stopped pacing and started thinking about Finn, Anna, and Pearl. They couldn't all be wrong, right? He shook his head. Either way, he would try to help Blaine pick up the pieces of his life.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe this," Aimi was shaking, tears already forming in her eyes. "I was just getting over you and now you're back?"<p>

Pearl looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Aimi, I can explain."

"Well, don't bother," Aimi brushed past the woman. Pearl brushed her red-blonde hair away from her blue-green eyes and met Blaine's. He was awake, which was a good sign. But the real question was whether or not he was up for talking.

"Blaine Anderson?" Pearl sat down next to the boy who made her feel tall. "I have a few questions I would like you to answer, if you feel up to it."

Blaine didn't give any indication that he had heard her; it was as good as a refusal. He was too broken up inside.

* * *

><p><em>The name Gordana means 'dignified,' which is the last thing that the nurse is. Aimi means, "love, beauty, and affection." Amanda means, "worthy of love." Pearls are gems formed when something painful, like a grain of sand, rolls into an oyster. The oyster will cover it up with a substance called nacre, more commonly known as mother-of-pearl. And hurray for the Glee Club finally making a friggin appearance!<em>

_Next, Pearl gets Blaine to talk about what really happened in the hallway, and Hari will come back! So will Kurt's rainbow fish. What should I name Kurt's fish? Tell me in a review. Or tell me how much you loved/hated this chapter/me. Pretty please with Redvines on top?_


	3. Say It

_ARGH! I wrote all four pages of this, and then my computer froze and I couldn't save anything but the first scene up until Aimi runs away. Two hours of work, just gone. But I rewrote it, and we delve into Aimi and Pearl's history together, Karosky and Azimio get (part of) what's coming to them, we get to see Blaine's version of what happened, and he gets abandoned by someone else. Also, Rachel is a bitch to him. Poor Blaine. Why am I so mean to him?_

_Disclaimer: I don't own the song "Say It" by Blue October, or the show "Dexter" (James Doakes)._

_The later italics are Blaine's account of what happened, in case you're confused._

* * *

><p><em>"Is there an S on my chest?<br>Well, I confess, you were too much stress.  
>I'd have a heart attack at best."<em>

Chapter III: Say It

"Anna and I have been talking about you, Blaine." He remained still. "We know what's happened to you is awful."

Now he closed his eyes, unaware of how sad his features remained.

"You can deny it all you want, but it won't make it go away and it won't make either of us go away."

Something that could have been a sob bubbled out of Blaine's chest, but he clenched his throat and it sputtered to a stop.

"Blaine, I was just like you once. My mother treated me the way her father treated her—like a sex object instead of human. My father treated me like the punching bag his mother treated him as. I told my psychiatrist, Varda Swan. When my wife and I wanted to adopt, I went to counseling to make sure I wouldn't be like that too. It turns out I was a much better candidate than my wife for adoption, even given my history. The reason is, I didn't let my pain fester. That's what you're doing, Blaine, and that has to stop."

Blaine turned away. Pearl clenched her fists. It was time to bring out the big guns. Anna would kill her for playing up Blaine's Messiah complex. But Anna wasn't here, so she had no say in what Pearl could do.

"I pressed charges against my father, but not my mother. Do you know why?" Pearl asked rhetorically. "My father hit her and me both. She would protect me sometimes, and other times I would protect her. My father's abusive experience not only led to him hitting me, but his wife. But do you know what tears me up the most?"

Blaine didn't answer or turn around to look at her, but Pearl knew his eyes were open. "They're still together, even he probably still hits her. See, he would always apologize and mean it, at least until the next time he'd hit her. He'd promise not to hurt her again, just I can see you promising yourself you'll never hurt Kurt. Guess what? He always went back on his promise. And so will you, unless you actually get the help you need to control the anger I know you carry in your heart."

"I don't want to hear you say it," his voice was pained.

"That you've run into one of your clients's children? It has to be said. You're not Superman; you can't carry this burdan alone."

Blaine finally turned to her, tears streaming out of his hazel eyes. He looked at her for a long moment before either of them spoke.

* * *

><p><em>Karofsky walks down the hall, chatting with Azimio. I'm trying to remember my locker combination, even though my locker is so small compared to what I'm used to, and also trying control my anger at both those guys. I notice that there's no one else in the hall, and decide to talk them into being nicer to Kurt. I turn around and see that neither of them are wearing their letter jackets. It's summer, and McKinley doesn't have air condition, so I guess that's why.<em>

"_You think you can just waltz in here and disrupt my life?" Karofsky sounds sickeningly familiar. "You think you're such a clever cat?"_

_Most of my "clients" refer to me as a cat. I don't know why; it lessens their own guilt, I guess. Karofsky's parents are two of them. I didn't know it was _that_ Dave Karofsky when he was wearing his football gear. And I guess he didn't know it was me in my Dalton uniform. But in street clothes, we could recognize each other better._

_And I guess Karofsky told Azimio about the cat, because he starts to laugh. But Karofsky looks terrified, because he probably first realized he was gay when he saw his parents playing with their cat. His face grows red, and he comes up to me. I should move, but I'm too shocked._

_I left my last school because I was so sick of the students knowing who I am to their families. I can't stand it to happen here too. But I can't move._

_Karofsky punches me in the face. His fist slips off my nose cast and onto my eye. There's a burst of pain and I fall on the floor. I tremble as I try to stand. He kicks me in the ribs three times. My torso is tender and it hurts to breathe. I see them towering over me. Panic and self-preservation rises with pain as I try to get up one more time, only to be knocked back down again. Excruciating pain from my temple freezes me._

"_Hey, what are you guys doing?" I can barely hear Finn's voice. Lauren is with him; I smell Cadbury eggs on the hands that pry Karofsky off me._

"_I wish I'd hurt him more," Karofsky spits._

* * *

><p>Pearl took Blaine's hand and squeezed as the boy finished recounting his story. Both were close to tears.<p>

The receptionist suddenly walked in again. "Nurse Amanda was crying when she left this room," his tone left no doubt that he believed Pearl to be the cause of all that was wrong with the world. "I'd like you to leave."

"N-no," Blaine's grip on Pearl's hand tightened as she rose to leave. "Stay, please," he pleaded.

Pearl looked at the receptionist, who sighed and muttered, "Fine," before sniffing his disapproval.

"His name's Gordan," Blaine said, as if that explained everything.

Pearl laughed a little as she sat down next to him. "So," her eyes were piercing in their intensity, "why do you want me to stay?"

Blaine shifted. "I feel like you're the only one who might know what I'm feeling," he said, looking at his toes.

"What are you feeling?" Pearl asked, squeezing his hand.

Blaine didn't answer. "Was that nurse your girlfriend?" he asked.

Pearl almost sighed. She hated giving out personal information, but when you wanted someone else to give personal information, there had to be a little give and take. "I used to live in Miami, and I was married to a man named James Doakes. Less than a year after we were married, he was found dead in a cabin in the Everglades with the remains of several serial murder victims. The police said he was the killer. I knew better, but only one person believed me, so I moved to Virginia and started working with the FBI again. My uncle and I were put undercover to find out who was bombing hospitals. I met Aimi during that mission, but after it was over, I had to leave. We haven't seen each other since." Pearl took out a small grey elephant and put it in Blaine's hands.

Blaine nodded, satisfied with her explanation. He looked at the ceiling for a few seconds, playing with the elephant, before he spoke again.

"It started when Hari was three," he said. "One of the neighbors, the one with the koi pond, mentioned that his brother was going crazy without having his cat to play with. So Hari's said they could let him borrow their cat. The person liked dark-haired boys, and Hari had dark hair."

Pearl managed not to squirm, but she still wasn't sure she was ready from her own pain to deal with Blaine's.

"Isn't this Anna's?" Blaine asked, waving the elephant in the air as he echoed Pearl's sentiment. "Where is she?" Blaine's chin trembled a little; Pearl's heart cracked a little. "You said neither of you were going to leave me alone."

"We won't," Pearl gave him a rainbow-colored fish. "Glitter and Hari will always be friends," Pearl said as she speed-dialed Anna. Someone had to ask Kurt more questions, and it sure was hell wasn't going to be Pearl if Blaine needed a companion tonight.

_Dear Goddess_, Pearl internally groaned, _that sounded dirty_.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Kurt," Rachel walked up to the countertenor Friday morning. "I just want you to know that, while you have been my rival every year since we first met, I would like you to be happy. I hope your boyfriend gets well. Unless he's a spy; then I hope he dies."<p>

Before Kurt could call Rachel a nasty name, Quinn pulled the poorly-dressed girl away to do it instead. Kurt found himself flanked by Puck and Santana on the left, Mike and Brittany on the right, Artie and Tina in front and Finn, Sam, and Lauren from behind. If the Secret Service was as good as his friends, terrorism wouldn't exist.

When Kurt walked to his car, parked near the dumpsters, he found Karofsky and Azimio climbing out of it. He drove away quickly, before they could see him. It was with some satisfaction that he noted the dumpsters hadn't been emptied since he had been thrown in, and the jocks were covered with two-day-old sardines.

* * *

><p>"Anna?" Pearl's voice was a nearly inaudible whisper.<p>

"It's six in the morning," Anna mumbled.

"Exactly. You haven't been in to see Blaine today."

"Did you give him the elephant?" Anna asked, scanning the bare-walled office she had slept in the night before. Everyone was packed into boxes.

"Of course I did, but he's been asking for you. This boy has been abandoned by everyone who's ever care about him. He needs you to be there for him," Pearl's voice was accusatory, and Anna felt a stab of annoyance.

"It's harder for me than it is for you," Anna told her. "You can empathize, but you're not so empathetic that you can't tell the difference between your feelings and someone else's."

"Anna, you can't run away from this," Pearl said, wanting to raise her voice but not wanting to wake the boy on the bed.

"No, **Blaine** can't run away from this. I, however, have more problems than just him. I'm moving offices to California, Pearl."

"You're such a coward," Pearl hissed, "running away from someone who needs you!"

"Aimi didn't need you? Zack didn't need you?" Anna lost her patience. "You are in no position to tell me what I shouldn't do."

Pearl hung up with a snap, and when she turned she found Blaine's sad, dark eyes looking up at her.

"She's gone, isn't she?"

Pearl swallowed reflexively, unable to answer.

"She can't deal with me."

"Kurt and I aren't leaving, and if I'm not mistaken, he's out there making your case against whoever hurt you stronger as we speak," Pearl sat down next to Blaine's bed and they watched the sun rise, wishing it dawned a happier day.

* * *

><p>Kurt had never been so glad for Saturdays as he was when he finally walked up to the hospital the day after Blaine had been attacked. He fully intended to take advantage of every moment the idiot receptionist decided to give him with Blaine. He didn't expect the eight cups of coffee he had downed to suddenly go to his bladder all at once, and he certainly didn't expect to hear a woman arguing with a doctor when he exited.<p>

"I think the bleeding is serious," Kurt recognized the voice as the nurse who had done the initial examination of Blaine.

"Amanda, there's no need to make waves. The Anderson family just gave us a grand to give their son the best care," a man replied dismissively.

"Exactly! We should examine all avenues," the nurse said.

"The boy was assaulted. Who knows what the boys might have done to him before the idiot and fat girl pulled them off."

Kurt clenched his fists. How dare this man speak so disparagingly about his friends! Finn wasn't (always) an idiot, and as long as Lauren was healthy, who cared about her weight? It was just a number, just like the money the Andersons had donated. Kurt took out his phone and texted Pearl and Anna.

_Blaine's parents gave the hospital $1000, and doc's ignoring Nurse Amanda._

Immediately, Pearl texted back. _Find Aimi and talk to her._

Kurt frowned. _Who's Amy?_

Pearl's swift reply intrigued Kurt, but not as much as finding out more about Blaine's condition. _Aimi is my nickname for Amanda. Long story. She knows more about this case._

Kurt opened the bathroom door and saw a pretty blonde with cerulean eyes looking over her charts.

"Excuse me, Nurse," he walked up to her. "I noticed you from Blaine's room last night. I'm his boyfriend," he extended a hand.

Amanda took it and smiled thinly. "Aimi—I mean, Amanda. I'm afraid that I can't give you any information. Doctor-patient confidentiality."

"I want to know what you mean by abuse," Kurt said seriously. "I heard you when I was in the bathroom. I want to make sure that my boyfriend's okay, and if the Andersons are giving this hospital money to cover up wrongdoing, I'm pretty sure that's illegal." Seeing that Amanda was weakening, he added "Please, I can see that you care about helping people. I just want to make sure whoever's hurting him stops."

Amanda bit her lip and leaned closer. "I found signs of long-term sexual and physical abuse. There are scars from what appear to be whips, blades, burns, and repeated blows on his torso and limbs. Scars on his neck indicate that he was collared. His wrists and ankles show evidence of being bound for a long time. I can't be sure, but I think some of his bones have been broken in the past and were never set back again. We haven't done any blood tests, but if we did, I doubt we won't find organ damage. The malnutrition alone would be enough to arrest someone for child abuse. I've actually put in a request for all of Blaine Anderson's medical records."

Kurt couldn't move as he processed the information. His boyfriend had managed to hide all of that damage for so long. No wonder he had wanted the lights off. He shuddered, not noticing the surprise on Amanda's face when about a metric ton of paper was faxed over.

* * *

><p><em>Karofsky beats up Blaine because seeing Blaine being forced to have sex was what made him realize his sexuality. Azimio just finds it gross and wants to take out his rage on someone.<em>

_As far as the cat analogy, many underground organizations that break the law speak in code ("I want a cat to play with" would actually be "I want a child to molest") so people don't get suspicious._

_Next time, Kurt tries to fix things between Aimi and Pearl, Pearl tries to fix things between Blaine and Kurt, and they both fail miserably. Featuring Carole, Burt, and Finn!_

_Thanks to KiKiKaKes and stupidamericanidioms91 for reviewing the last chapter. Also, thanks to the person who pointed out that I typed the part about Blaine almost crying in the wrong tense. Please, guys, if you notice something that doesn't sound right, TELL ME so I can fix it. Really, I'm always open to improvement._


	4. Weight of the World

_This took me four hours to write. Yes, I actually sit down at a computer for four hours at a time to type thigns out and edit them. Well, here we have more of Rachel as comic relief, more Blaine and Kurt angst, and we get to see the Hummels together for the first time._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the song "Weight of the World," by Blue October._

_I had a really had time knowing what lyrics I wanted at the beginning. I kind of wanted to put the entire song here because, to me, this song is about victims of abuse pushing people away, and it's something that victims of sexual abuse in particular do a lot. And herein lies the difference between victims and survivors: survivors embrace others knowing that they might be rejected; victims push others away for fear that they will leave eventually anyway. If you take away nothing else from this story, take away this; it is always worth forming relationships._

* * *

><p><em>"Don't bother trusting me.<br>Don't bother waiting.  
>Don't bother changing things that won't give into changing.<br>Just let me go away.  
>I'm packed."<em>

Chapter IV: Weight of the World

For about the fiftieth time, Carole put a comforting hand on Finn as he worried aloud about the state of his and Rachel's relationship. She wondered if raising girls would be as bad as this. Surely, if Kurt was a girl, his boyfriend wouldn't be in the hospital. Not that she wanted her son to change—she loved Kurt for who he was—but she couldn't help but wonder if life would be easier if Kurt was a straight girl.

Down the hall, Kurt's life was certainly not easy.

"She put you up to this, didn't she?" Amanda suddenly yelled at Kurt, who backed away in shock.

"What are you talking about?" Kurt demanded.

"The medical records I was looking for was last requested by someone named Pearl Rush," Amanda said in an odd voice.

"That doesn't have anything to do with my boyfriend. She was the one who got me thinking that there was something wrong," Kurt said snippily.

Amanda wiped away a tear. Kurt ignored the fact that she had been crying, for which she was immensely grateful. "I need someone to tell the truth about Blaine's condition," he whispered when she looked up again with dry eyes. "If Pearl is willing to help us press charges, I need you to be willing to work with her."

Amanda shook her head. "You have to promise me that I don't have to see her at all," she said through gritted teeth.

Kurt nodded. Whatever he had to do to get Blaine better, he was willing.

* * *

><p>Rachel looked down at her texts again. Finn was asking what a cat was. Rachel rolled her eyes. She expected jocks to possess less intelligence than she, but not to this degree! McKinley's academics program was simply unacceptable if it allowed this level of incompetency!<p>

* * *

><p>"Blaine!" Kurt bounded into the room to find Pearl asleep the seat next to Blaine's bed, curled up like a cat. He put one hand on her shoulder as lightly as he could, but she started awake.<p>

"Sorry," Kurt apologized in a whisper. "I didn't want to scare you."

Pearl smiled and shook her head. "I needed to wake up anyway. I still have to pull a f-truckload of financial information from supposedly private banks." She yawned and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she walked toward the window.

"The door's that way," Kurt corrected, pointing behind him.

"Oh," Pearl blinked. "I need coffee," she muttered as she left.

Kurt chuckled a little, but his face fell when he saw Blaine. His boyfriend's face was twisted into a grimace, and when Kurt moved his hand onto Blaine's shoulder, as gently as he could, Blaine jerked awake.

"Sorry," Kurt felt a sense of déjà vu. "I didn't want to scare you."

Blaine shook his head and tried to smile. "I needed to wake up anyway." He handed Kurt the rainbow fish.

"Glitter!" Kurt exclaimed happily, hugging it to his chest.

Blaine smiled in earnest before he remembered who had given Kurt Glitter and his face reflected his disappointment.

"What's wrong?" Kurt asked.

"Anna's gone off to California," Blaine said. "She can't deal with me." He reached over for the morphine drip.

Kurt sat up straighter in his chair. "I'm not going anywhere, Blaine."

Blaine almost giggled. "Pearl said the exact same thing."

Kurt suddenly checked the level of painkillers Blaine had in his system. The number made him grin evilly and take out his cameraphone.

"So, Blaine, what do you think of McKinley?" Kurt asked.

"You mean Pigfarts High?" Blaine asked dreamily.

Kurt's grin grew wider. This was going to be fun!

* * *

><p>Pearl's phone would not stop vibrating, so she finally answered it in line at the Lima Bean with a scowl. "What, Garcia?" she growled.<p>

"Wow, somebody hasn't had her coffee yet," Penelope Garcia said cheerfully.

Pearl huffed indignantly. "Was there a point to this call, Penny, or did you just want to torture me?"

"Well, you wanted me to look up bank transactions between the Karofsky and Anderson accounts. There've been about six to ten fifty-dollar transfers every year, back and forth," Garcia said.

"I see," Pearl's exhaustion disappeared and she left the line, oblivious to the cheers that erupted from the other caffeine-addicts behind her. "Penny, do you know if human trafficking in one county is a federal crime?"

"If a child is taken against his or her will, it is."

"Great. How soon can you get Hotch and Reid here?"

"How soon do you need them?"

Pearl smiled a little, the fire in her belly superseding the sleep in her veins. "One more thing, can you check the Azimio account for similar transactions? A-Z-I-M-I-O."

"Sure thing, sweetie. Take care of yourself, okay?" Garcia said kindly.

"I will. Love ya, Penny."

* * *

><p>"Dude, you look like crap," Finn said when he entered, ever the gentleman.<p>

"Sorry," Blaine rasped. The painkillers had worn off and he didn't want to take another dose if it meant that he couldn't think clearly.

Finn shrugged. "You look better than you did when I found you though. Seriously, I thought you were dead."

"Two broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, a black eye, and a fractured ankle," Carole remembered.

"Are you guys sure about staying at this school? I mean, I only let you back because I thought this Karofsky kid could keep it together," Burt said.

"Yeah," Kurt jumped at the chance to send his boyfriend back to safety. "Blaine, think about your friends and the Warblers."

Blaine shrugged. "Wes and David are the only ones I was really close to, and they graduated last year."

Finn suddenly noticed the one thing that everyone else in the room didn't. "Hey, dude, where are your parents?"

**This** was why Blaine wanted to keep his mind clear. "Mom's in Utah taking care of her grandmother, and Dad's in Italy negotiating contracts."

Kurt bit his lip. "Blaine, I was talking to the nurse earlier, and—"

"Oh, Pearl's ex-girlfriend nurse?" Blaine wanted to change the topic, and quickly.

"She says that she found signs of abuse," Kurt stood his ground.

"It's none of your business!" Blaine wanted to strangle his boyfriend. How could he bring this up in front of his family?

"I'm sorry!" Kurt jumped back, both hands in the air.

Blaine swallowed. The feelings of anger and aggression were exactly what Pearl had been warning him about earlier. Clearly, he had some things to work through. He just hoped that Kurt would be willing to work with him.

* * *

><p>Pearl's craving for caffeine finally won out, and once again, Garcia called her when she was in line. "It seems to me that the transactions suggest a trade," the analyst said, looking over the Azimio and Karofsky financial situation.<p>

Pearl covered her mouth, fighting the urge to throw up.

"Can I help you, ma'am?" the person behind the counter looked worried.

"Um, give me the most caffeine-laden tea that you have," Pearl heard that tea could relieve nausea, and if she was to look more into Blaine's life, she had the feeling she would need it."

"Sure, ma'am," the cashier didn't look convinced, but took Pearl's credit card anyway. She frowned. Five minutes ago, the same card was used to book a hotel room in New York. "Um, ma'am, I think you're a victim of identity theft," the cashier said nervously.

Pearl nearly choked on her tea. How was she going to explain this?

* * *

><p>Burt had to go back to work after lunch, and Carole had to drive Finn to a date with Rachel. Or maybe it was a tutoring session; Gaga knew Finn needed one. Regardless, Kurt was glad to have a few minutes alone with Blaine. He expected Blaine to ask for an apology for his behavior earlier. But he didn't expect to get one.<p>

"Kurt, I was out of line. I shouldn't have yelled at you," Blaine said, tears of distress shining obscenely in his eyes.

"I shouldn't have pried into your personal life," Kurt apologized as well. "You don't have to tell me everything, and I shouldn't make you try."

Blaine sighed. "Kurt, go lock the door," he said, reaching out the close the blinds with a wince. Kurt thought about what Aimi had said about there being more damage a cursory look couldn't determine and wondered how he hadn't noticed that Blaine's arm moved in an odd way as he took off his hospital gown.

Kurt gagged. Oh, dear Gaga.

* * *

><p>"Can I take a picture of the screen?" Pearl asked, taking out her phone again. "It'll really help when I have to go to court."<p>

"Sure," the cashier was glad to be of assistance.

Once Pearl was sure that the cashier wasn't going to be a problem anymore, she dumped ungodly amounts of sweeteners into her tea and left the room. She had an uncle and the husband of a friend to pick up before she turned more of Blaine's life upside-down. She paused a second to consider how she would have acted if she were in Blaine's position, and how her profile said Kurt would react.

When she realized exactly what was going to go down, the (thankfully empty) cup of tea fell from her hand and she was at the hospital in a flash. Literally.

* * *

><p>The last day Kurt was at McKinley before his original transfer, he watched "Frankenstein" with his English class. The stitched-together monster was grotesque. However, while Blaine's body was nowhere near as awful, it was much more horrifying because none of it was computer-generated. At the last second, Pearl appeared out of nowhere and handed Kurt a trashcan to throw up in.<p>

"Get out," Blaine said, voice terrifying flat.

Still in shock, Kurt didn't know what else to do but obey, unsure Blaine would ever let him back in, or even if he wanted to go back in.

* * *

><p><em>Spoiler alert! Kurt <strong>will<strong> come back. I'm not bre__aking them up. Well, actually, I am, but it's not permanent, and it'll only make them realize how much they need the other._

_Next time, Kurt and Blaine will get back together, Pearl fixes Kurt's sweater, Reid freaks Kurt out by looking like Sue (hehe), Aimi and Pearl meet again, Santana stumbles upon some information she doesn't understand, and Blaine tells a really bad story. I'm going to warn you guys that there is going to be very little humor in the next chapter. In fact, those of you who have weak stomachs might want to not read the last scene._

_Thank you to every**ONE** (stupidamericanidioms91) who reviewed the last chapter, and if you want to see this get better, please tell me how in a review! Seriously, the reader-review ratio has been incredibly sad. Not as sad Blaine's life, but pretty damn bad._


	5. Sorry

_Hooray! I had THREE reviews last time! Thank you, stupidamericanidioms91, 256, and ., you guys are amazing! I'm positively ecstatic, which is why writing this was so hard. __Guys, I'm going to warn you, this chapter contains some dark stuff. Seriously, the italics near the end is Blaine at one of his tormentors' houses, basically being tortured. There's very little humor; most of it has to do with Santana being mean, Reid being clueless, and Hotch being...whatever kind of robot he is. We also get more into Pearl's backstory because I don't have one for her, so I'm making it up as I go along._

_By the way, who caught the inconsistency with Blaine's door? I told you Pearl was a character in a fantasy novel. You'll get another clue in the first sentence._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Aidan Burn from "CSI: New York." Nor do I own the song "Sorry," by Buckcherry._

* * *

><p><em>"'Cause everything inside,<br>It never comes out right.  
>And when I see you cry,<br>It makes me want to die."_

Chapter V: Sorry

Pearl put the trashcan as far from Blaine as she could before locking the door again and walking back to the boy's bed. "Well, that sucked considerably more than I thought it would."

Blaine didn't look as Pearl helped him put his gown back on. He just shook silently, and Pearl stood still as he buried his face in his pillow and hoped she couldn't see the tears that pooled on his face. When he was cried out, she replaced his sodden pillow with a fresh dry one. Funny. He hadn't even noticed her leave to get a new one.

"Go away," he said in a raspy voice. If it worked on Kurt, the person who swore he would never leave, it would surely work on Pearl.

"No can do, Blaine-y bear," Pearl said in an obscenely cheerful voice. Her voice suddenly grew serious. "You know Kurt only left because he thinks this is his fault for not seeing that your life went wrong, right?"

Blaine sniffed. "He's disgusted by me."

"He's disgusted by what happened to you. Do you know what he told his father when Burt heard Finn called his things 'faggy?' He said that Finn didn't mean it like that," Pearl moved to the other side of Blaine's bed so they'd face each other again. "Do you know what Burt said after that?" Pearl moved Blaine's chin when he turned away again to make sure they were seeing eye-to-eye. "He said that Kurt only saw the best in people. And that's a wonderful trait to have, but it's not so wonderful when he blinds himself to the fact that the world also kinda sucks." Pearl let go of Blaine's face and slowly stood up straight. "Blaine, Kurt doesn't want to think that people can be bad, especially not to this degree," she gestured to his body.

"I don't want to hear about this," Blaine insisted, swatting her hand away before sitting bolt upright and wincing. "Wait, how did you know about that?"

"I'm a goddamn FBI profiler, Blaine. Do you really think you teenage boys can hide that much from me? Oh, crap," she cursed when Blaine pulled the blanket over his head, panicked that she knew his secret. "Look, Blaine, I know how this goes. You were little when it first happened, and you didn't know what it was, but you knew you didn't like it. You didn't say anything about it because other kids complain about having to eat icky vegetables and take icky medicine, and you figured that, because you did that less, you had to do this more. By the time you figured out it was wrong, you realize how long it's been since your neighbors first molested you and you doubt people will believe you had no choice for so long. And I won't lie to you, Blaine, some people will think that you're sickening. So you try to put it out of your mind and refuse to think about it because every time you even come close to thinking about it, you get so angry you want to kill yourself because you think you let yourself suffer so much. But you didn't let yourself suffer; you just didn't know how to deal with other people making you suffer."

Blaine sniffed. "It wasn't always other people making me suffer."

Pearl walked to the foot of his bed. "Blaine, when I get Kurt to come back in, he's going to apologize and blame himself for everything you've suffered since you two first met. Make sure he doesn't suck himself into the same hell you did."

"But I can't tell him!"

"Then say that! Tell him that you can't tell him now—maybe not ever—but that you want your relationship to work out. Then tell me if it works, because I'm going to try those lines on Aimi."

Blaine didn't laugh, but he didn't refuse either, so Pearl took that as a tacit declaration of his permission.

* * *

><p>Santana hated community service, especially Meals on Wheels. Old people were so boring! Besides, the guy she had punched into a stage 8 coma had it coming for insulting Brittany's intelligence. Nobody who made her Brittany cry wouldn't end up crying themselves. <em>Of course<em>, Santana had to remind herself again, _Brittany isn't mine_. Their relationship was strictly friendly. And if Santana ogled the pair of breasts bigger than Texas, well, she was just doing it in a friendly way.

"What do you mean, someone pulled my bank account records?" the next-door neighbor yelled. "I thought it was private!"

"Oh, that Elohssa Latot," the woman Santana was currently feeding clearly disapproved of having a French woman living next-door. "She's always too loud when I'm trying to go to sleep."

_Most people are when you go to bed at 6:00_, Santana thought.

* * *

><p>"I've come to bribe you to go back to Blaine's room and not yell at him as much as he deserves," Pearl said, holding a sardine-free Alexander McQueen sweater.<p>

Kurt didn't even touch the soft sweater. "He doesn't want me there."

Pearl folded the sweater and put it next to her, thinking. "You know," she said, "I'm not arachnophobic, but I'm terrified of black widows, even though I am one. Well, a widow. I'm pretty much the opposite of black," Pearl held out unusually pale arms and Kurt noted that she was sitting as far away from the window as possible. "I'm allergic to sunlight; before you ask, no, I'm not a vampire." _Not really._ But that's not why the second semester of my senior year of high school was so crappy."

Kurt tilted his head to show he was listening.

"My wife, Aidan Burn, was Lutheran, so we were spiritually married at her church, but we wanted to go to Massachusetts over spring break to get legally married. We packed my aunt, uncle, and their kids into the car. We didn't get very far before Aidan and I started arguing. I don't even remember what it was about, but I know that my aunt left the car to chase after me when I walked out. She couldn't find me, thank goodness, because I found the serial rapist Aidan and I met and bonded trying to bring to justice. Actually, it'd be more accurate to say he found **us**."

Kurt's eyes were wide and horrified. Pearl realized what he was thinking.

"Oh, no Kurt, he didn't sexually attack me. He just beat me to within an inch of my life. And then he picked up his gun and shot my wife, my uncle, my niece, and my two nephews in front of me. I couldn't move—could barely stay conscious, he beat me so badly—but I wanted to make sure there was a witness. I watched him kill my family members and I couldn't even move, and all I could think was that this was my fault."

"It wasn't your fault!" Kurt exclaimed.

"Exactly. It was a misunderstanding!" Pearl said passionately. "Blaine misunderstood your intention for throwing up; he thinks you find him disgusting. Go in and talk to him, prove him wrong."

* * *

><p>On the jet to Lima, Reid looked over the records Garcia had printed out. At least thirty $400 transactions had been made from Elhossa Latot's account to the Andersons' in the last fifteen years, by far the most. Krej Etelpmoc's had the second-most: twenty-eight. The Karofsky account had three, and the Azimio account had one. Reid wondered idly what the Andersons possibly want with so much money.<p>

* * *

><p>"Blaine?" Kurt opened the door and found his boyfriend getting up giving him a smile that resembled a grimace. "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have run out like that! Please, please, please forgive me!" He got ready to launch himself into Blaine's arms.<p>

Blaine dreaded that first burst of pain, even knowing that it would bring Kurt closer to him. "It's okay, Kurt. I shouldn't have yelled at you," he apologized. "I'm sorry."

Kurt realized his boyfriend was (barely) standing and gasped. "What are you doing up? Come on, lie down!"

"Kurt, I'm fine," Blaine protested.

Aimi walked in, right on cue. "Blaine Anderson," her face was pinched and a little puffy, but otherwise she was fine, "the doctor has decided to release you. Your MRI scan didn't show any signs of long-term damage, and it looks like you'll be good to go to school on Monday."

"He's not—" Kurt began, but Blaine interrupted him.

"Great, I can't wait," he tried not to think of Karofsky and Azimio, but failed and paled considerably.

"The boys who beat you are suspended for the rest of the school year," Aimi said. Blaine sighed in relief. "But you need to testify at their hearing," Aimi said. "Pearl pressed charges on your behalf."

Blaine nearly fainted on the spot. "But they'll be asked why they hit me."

"Mr. Anderson, I'm far more worried about the extensive injuries, both healed and not, all over your body," Aimi sat down at the foot of the bed.

"There's nothing to be worried about!" Blaine said calmly, ever the dapper gentleman. "Just some minor scrapes and falls."

"We all know that's a lie," a dark-eyed, dark-haired man walked inside the room. "My name is Aaron Hotchner and I work with the FBI," he held out a badge that looked like it could deflect bullets. Never let it be said that Aaron Hotchner didn't know how to display his authority. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the man behind him.

"Spencer Reid," the younger man said, offering Kurt his hand to shake.

Kurt actually trembled. Blaine leaned down to his boyfriend's ear and whispered, "What's wrong?"

"Is it just me or does the young guy look like Sue?" Kurt whispered back.

Blaine had to repress the need to laugh, which wasn't difficult when Hotch cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Blaine Anderson, can you call your parents and have them meet me downstairs, please? Reid will stay with you," Hotch said.

"I can't do that," Blaine began to tremble. "I'll get in trouble with them."

"If your body is any indication, you're already in trouble with them," Aimi said.

Blaine looked away. "Can't we just all let it go?"

"Abso-fucking-lutely not," Pearl said, coming in. Aimi prided herself on not flinching. "Blaine, Rodney King couldn't get out of trial, and neither can you."

Blaine's trembling reached blurry proportions. Aimi and Pearl looked at each other, the others in the room, and Aimi left. Pearl continued giving orders.

"Uncle Aaron, would you mind calling Penny outside the hospital? Reid, could you profile Kurt and figure out how he can best help us?"

"NO!" Blaine suddenly grew angry. "You can't get Kurt involved!"

"He was involved the moment you two met," Pearl refused quietly.

Blaine shook his head quickly. "No, he wasn't, and I can't get him involved."

"I'm right here," Kurt protested. "Let me stay and decide what I can and can't be involved in," he said indignantly.

Pearl crossed her arms over her chest. "For once, Mr. Anderson, I'm going to agree with you. Kurt Hummel, follow Spencer Reid if you **really** want to be of assistance. Blaine, get back down in your bed and wait. Uncle Aaron, why are you still here?" Pearl's voice became a little whiny toward the end.

"Um," Hotch might be good at intimidation, but he was not good with feminine tears. At the moment, Pearl, Reid, and Kurt were all crying, and he wasn't sure he could stay in the same room for much longer. "I'll just be outside," he muttered.

Pearl turned back to Blaine. "In eighth grade, I was invited to a rave. I brought a can of soda because they say to bring your own drinks. I only took my eye off it for a second—to pick up my phone when I dropped it—but that was enough. When I woke up, I was having sex with my boyfriend's abusive father. This drove a wedge between my boyfriend and I that never really went away. In one fell swoop, I lost my virginity and my boyfriend. Believe me, Blaine, I know how you feel. Being sexually attacked makes you feel like you're dirty and used."

Blaine looked Pearl in the eye for the first time. "I'm sorry," he said honestly.

Pearl looked back. "I'm not here to judge you or feel sorry for you. See, I had people willing to help me, but I ran from them because I felt like, if I didn't say it, it wasn't real. But it **is** real, Blaine," tears formed in Pearl's eyes, "and I don't want you to make the same mistakes I did. I want you to let me help you."

Blaine looked away. It felt like forever before he started talking again.

* * *

><p><em>Krej Etelpmoc has a koi pond. He used to have a dog, back when he liked to have kids come over to play with it. Kids are so naïve, but I'm more naïve. Lola and Cailean Anderson tell me that he's going to babysit me while they go out. I believe them, sort of.<em>

_"You're the cat the Andersons sent me?" Krej looks me up and down before grabbing my face roughly and kissing me. My lips are crushed against my teeth so sharply, the insides feel like raw meat. I claw at Krej's wrist. Krej lets go of me, but before I can leave, Krej takes off his belt and hits my bare back. It's painful and I fall down. He bears down on me, tying my ankles to my wrists. I'm lying on my side so that my bare torso is exposed. The glowing tip of the cigarette he smokes is ground into my chest. I'm screaming at the top of my lungs, nearly blind with pain._

_"Don't fight me again," Krej says warningly. "And stop yelling," he takes out his lighter this time and puts against my stomach. Pain shoots through my gut, and I'm momentarily breathless. I can't scream, so he finally stops. He takes me to his bedroom and ties each ankle and wrist to the bed, so that I'm lying stomach-first on the bed. I'm terrified, and Krej doesn't make it any better when he flogs me with his belt. I grit my teeth, so blinded by the pain and blood running down my back that I don't notice when he climbs on the bed with me. He fills me and all of my muscles seem to knot all at once. I keep gritting my teeth, but eventually I give into the pain and beg him to stop. He smacks me on the side of the face, and I realize there's no use fighting; it only brings more pain. I stop struggling. __When it's over, he unties me and I don't have the energy to hate him. I barely have enough energy to be bent double from the suffering._

* * *

><p>Blaine wasn't the only one crying now; Pearl was flat-out sobbing. "I'm sorry, Blaine," she whispered. "I wish I could help."<p>

"You did," Blaine said quietly. "When I told you about being with Krej, it was like I wasn't alone in that room." He smiled weakly. "You were there, comforting me."

* * *

><p><em>Go grab more tissues. I'll wait. And pretty soon, it'll get worse. Yes, it gets worse than this.<em>

_Lola means "sorrows," and Cailean means "whelp." I hope I don't have to explain why I picked those names._

_Well, in the next chapter, the Andersons make an appearance (of getting punched out by Hotch), Reid proves he has no filter over his mouth, Pearl and Blaine exchange more stories, and Blaine and Kurt return to McKinley. I don't know how I'll do all that, but I will._

_Should I have Blaine confront Karofsky and Azimio in the next chapter, or should they both be expelled and Blaine never has to deal with them again? Tell me in a private message or a review. Or don't, and review/PM me anyway._


	6. Should Be Loved

_I can't thank 256 and stupidamericanidioms91 enough for their lovely, lovely reviews! You guys are amazing!_

_Well, in this chapter, Blaine's entire history is revealed because I don't really want to stretch it out any longer for you guys. Needless to say, however, the Anderson have friends in some pretty high places, so when Hotch loses his temper it ends really badly. And I said I was going to have Blaine confront Karofsky and Azimio in this chapter, but with everything else on top of it, I couldn't fit it in, but it'll definitely be in the next chapter, I promise._

_I'm aware that Azimio doesn't have a first name, so I gave him the actor's first name (James)._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the song "Should Be Loved" by Blue October._

* * *

><p><em>"I should be loved by you,<br>That I know is true.  
>I can't breathe when you're around.<br>I should be held at night,  
>That I know is right."<em>

Chapter VI: Should Be Loved

"Kurt, can you tell me at what point your boyfriend began initiating sexual contact with you?" Reid asked.

Kurt raised an eyebrow at Reid's bluntness, but otherwise didn't comment. "He never has. I had my first kiss stolen by a bully earlier this school year, and he said he didn't want to push me, so he never made the first move." Reid wrote something down, and Kurt grew impatient. "What the hell are you jotting down?" he demanded.

"I'm sorry?" Reid asked, blinking in confusion.

Kurt's bottom lip trembled. "Pearl asked me a bunch of questions when just before Blaine transferred. A few days later, my boyfriend lands in the hospital. What am I supposed to think? You guys know more than you're telling, but this is my boyfriend you're talking about! He's upstairs with broken bones and who knows what else!"

Reid swallowed and tapped his pen nervously on the table. "Mr. Hummel—"

"Kurt," Kurt interrupted.

"Kurt, we suspect that your boyfriend's parents are involved in a child slavery ring," Reid said.

Kurt just stared. "What do you mean? Slavery was over **decades** ago."

Now Reid stared. "What do **you** mean? There are now more slaves than any other point in history."

Kurt swallowed and sat further back in his seat. "How, though? I mean, I know his parents are completely jackasses, but—"

Reid laughed suddenly. "I'm sorry, but hearing you utilize foul language is extremely comical."

Kurt sniffed, but continued speaking. "His parents are mean, but I don't think they could be that mean."

"We think that the parents of David Karofsky and James Azimio have been his clients," Reid continued. "Have you met any of them?"

Kurt shook his head. "I met Karofsky's dad. He was really nice. There was no way he'd do anything like this."

Reid frowned at the young boy. "You know what I hear a lot? Excuses: no one wants to believe that people they know and live near could be rapists, killers, or abusers. They want to think that they're smart enough to see one from a mile away, but they aren't; it's impossible to tell the difference between a charming sociopath and a genuinely nice person, except that a charming sociopath isn't so charming when he's at home, when he can stop being charming and start letting go."

Kurt disagreed. "Mr. Karofsky believed me about the bullying during Karofsky's expulsion hearing."

"And was his son expelled?" Reid asked.

Kurt's eyes widened and he shook his head.

Reid picked up his pencil again. "So, why don't you tell me more about the Karofskys, the Azimios, and the Andersons?"

"Well, Blaine's parents are—"

"Wait, what?" Reid's back leapt off his chair so fast, it was as if he had been electrocuted. "Who's Blaine?"

* * *

><p>Pearl reached for the box of tissues without once taking her eyes off Blaine.<p>

"I underestimated you," she said.

"No, you didn't," his voice was small, like a kitten mewling, and Pearl frowned.

"Alright, enough of that," she said briskly, standing up. "I think you're okay to go home." She pressed the button and waited for Aimi to come in.

"Oh, what the hell," Aimi looked annoyed when she saw Pearl. "I told that boy—what's his name?—to keep you away from me."

"His name's Kurt," Pearl and Blaine said at once, although Blaine sounded more offended and Pearl sounded more amused.

"Whatever," Aimi refused to look at Pearl. "I've been calling him Porcelain."

Pearl and Blaine both sputtered, neither one knowing how to respond. Aimi hesitated before signing Blaine out, but she still did it and pressed the board to Pearl's chest before leaving. Pearl swallowed.

"I'll get you some clothes," the agent muttered, blinking back tears. "You won't want your clothes from Friday; they're all bloody."

Blaine groaned. "No, I don't want them."

Pearl nodded and walked out the door. It took only a minute before she came back again with a full outfit. He blinked, but since waiting alone made him miserable, the minute went by much more slowly for him.

"Have you talked to her?" Blaine asked casually as Pearl closed the door.

"No," Pearl's voice was resigned.

"Why not?"

"You saw how she waited before she signed you out. She didn't want to, and if she didn't think that signing it would get me out of her hair faster, she wouldn't have. She was willing to compromise on your safety to get away from me sooner."

Blaine snorted. "At least she didn't throw up at the sight of you," his voice was tinged with sadness.

Pearl took the opportunity to change the subject. "Kurt isn't disgusted by you."

Her attempt failed. Blaine looked up at her, "Neither is Aimi."

Pearl swallowed and looked at the door. She had someone to find, but she had a boy to help too. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Blaine smiled sadly. He didn't want her to think he was weak, so of course he answered, "Yes."

Pearl offered him her Bitch-Please Look. "Liar," she said gently, walking with him down the stairs. Their conversation once again returned to the story he had told her earlier. "Krej was only one of your…what do you want me to call them?"

"Lola called them my masters," Blaine said softly.

Pearl paused on the steps when Blaine walked forward. The gap between them grew. "So, you call your mother by her first name?"

Blaine looked away. Pearl took it to mean that he didn't see Lola as his mother. But that didn't make sense. Abused children considered their parents their rocks, even if those rocks were only used to hurt them. She frowned, wondering what she was missing, and asked, "Blaine, should I get your parents here?"

Blaine remained quiet, and Pearl cursed the fact that she had withdrawn from Blaine first. She would have to offer another story of hers if she didn't want to lose him.

"I told you how I was raped by my boyfriend's abusive father, but I didn't tell you what happened after," she began. Blaine gave her his full attention now, eyes a little wider. "Keefe Cale and I started dating because I helped him convict his father for child abuse. He and his father were forcibly separated, and Keefe told only me where he was living. I was in an inebriated state that night at the part, obviously, so Cerberus Cale asked me if I knew where Keefe was, I told him. I also told him the neighborhood where I lived. He stalked me for almost half a year, leaving threats in my locker, my phone, my mail, and my parents didn't care; they even said so. But the worst part is that Cerberus took Keefe, and you can probably guess what happened to him. I blamed myself because I was the one who told Cerberus where Keefe was."

Blaine thought about what could have gone on between Cerberus and Keefe, and felt a pang of empathy for the boy. "Fifty dollars," he admitted quietly. "I remember being in Ireland, and then I was living with the Andersons. They set me up with a cot and a small white teddy bear in the garage. I did all the housework, or they'd beat me. Mrs. Karofsky found out, and threatened to report them unless I did his housework too. But the second time I went over there, she paid them to keep me longer, and that my first time. Later, the Andersons stopped having me do housework. They figured that I shouldn't be too tired to play."

His voice was bitter, and Pearl bit her lip.

"I recognized the Karofskys when I saw their son without his letter jacket," Blaine said. "They had me come over once to do housework, and twice Mrs. Karofsky had me do something else," his voice was full of self-loathing.

Pearl doesn't say, "The Andersons **bought** you," as much as she breathes it. So the added volume didn't come from her.

It came from the porcelain-skinned boy and the wavy-haired man who had appeared on the stairs without their knowledge.

Pearl groaned. "No wonder my cover got blown."

* * *

><p>"Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, I'm here to discuss your son's case," Hotch showed the couple his badge, which he had held out since being stopped by basically every single security guard they had at their estate.<p>

"Why now?" Lola looked surprised, and Hotch felt uneasy.

"Well, he's being released from the hospital today," Hotch answered.

"Oh, you're talking about Blaine," Cailean nodded.

Hotch almost did a double-take. Garcia had said they had one son; what could Cailean possibly mean?

"My niece has taken a special interest in his case, and when Pearl says jump, you go," Hotch smiled. Pearl had so many people wrapped around her finger, she could probably snap her fingers and control the world tomorrow, and that wasn't even counting the…other things wrapped around her finger. Was it her finger? He was sure he had seen her take the…. _That is unrelated_, Hotch reminded himself firmly.

"Well, what would you like to know?" Lola looked at her nails.

Hotch felt a strong surge of anger. He too had seen the pictures Aimi took, detailing the horrific abuse the boy had went through. He remembered his own father, and felt the whip burn his flesh as it cut across his back. There was no doubt in his mind that Lola and Cailean Anderson, the people who should love Blaine, had been responsible for their son's suffering, because here they were, one focused on her appearance and one forgetting he had a son.

His fist came out of nowhere, striking Cailean and Lola in the nose in its arced path. As Cailean grabbed the bleeding appendage, he glared at Hotch.

"No need to kick me out," Hotch said calmly. "I can walk out by myself." And that was exactly what he did, thinking that this was still just a case of child abuse.

* * *

><p>"How long did you think you could keep it a secret, Blaine?" Kurt's bottom lip trembled. "You could've at least told me."<p>

"Kurt, I didn't want you to be upset," Blaine shrugged. "There wasn't a lot anyone could do about it."

"You do realize that my supervisor is at your house right now, correct?" Reid asked, turning to Blaine. His phone rang and silence reigned as he answered it. "Oh," he said, hanging up. "Um, he's not anymore, and I doubt he'll be welcomed there again."

Blaine paled and groaned.

"In fact," Reid bit his lip as he looked at Pearl, "the BAU has officially been ordered back to Quantico by Section Chief Erin Strauss."

Pearl smiled. "I know someone whose authority supersedes that of Strauss', but first," she turned to the boys, "you guys need to get to class."

"I don't think Blaine should—"

"Let's go," Blaine said, cutting Kurt off.

* * *

><p>As expected, the New Directions formed a barrier around Blaine and Kurt the moment they arrived. Puck and Finn were in the back, ready to beat the living crud out of anyone who dared to look at their friends the wrong way. Brittany, standing next Blaine and pushing Artie, kept asking if her dolphin was okay. Santana, standing to Brittany, had her reputation to keep her terrifying. Lauren and Mercedes led the front, and Mike and Tina stood to Kurt's right, holding hands and looking ninja. Rachel had convinced the faculty to give them the same schedule, so they could walk the halls together. They were all safe, until it came time to leave. Now, the Brainiacs had to go to yet another competition, Mercedes had to drive Santana and Puck had community service, Finn and Lauren had detention (Finn for failing too many tests, Lauren for eating the teacher's Christmas present), and Rachel had to practice for the musical. Blaine and Kurt were alone when they went to their lockers, and Kurt spotted them first.<p>

"What the hell are you doing? Kurt demanded as they walked up.

"We want to know how trash like him could end up at our school," Azimio nodded at Blaine.

"Talk about hypocrisy, except you guys don't know what that is," Kurt said, disgusted. "Come on, Blaine, my dad's waiting."

Azimio jerked Kurt back by the collar. "You don't get to go anywhere," he whispered threateningly.

Kurt wasn't aware that he had whimpered a little, but Blaine was, and he swung his bag at Azimio so hard, the boy doubled over and clutched his stomach. Karofsky, enraged, swung his fist back. It made contact, but not with Blaine's face. The senior blinked. It was like Karofsky's fist bounced off of his cheek. Blaine reached up and touched the place that should've been swollen and painful, and realized his hand had some kind of a clear glow. It disappeared, not so much fading as it seemed to withdraw into the woman standing next to him.

"Pearl?" Blaine was confused.

"So long, Jimmy," Pearl glared at Azimio and Karofsky. "I suggest you all head home before I have you guys arrested for assault." As the two jocks left, she looked at Kurt and Blaine worriedly. "Are you guys alright?"

Kurt shook his head and whispered, "I'm worried about what'll happen when you aren't there to save us." Pearl frowned. Tomorrow, she would have to talk to the aunt who had lost her husband and children because of her and arrest a couple of parents.

* * *

><p><em>Next time, Pearl and her aunt talk, the Andersons see Hotch again, and Blaine seeks out Karofsky and Azimio.<em>

_Cerberus means "demon of the pit." He's the three-headed dog that guarded the underworld in Greek mythology. I figure, since Pearl felt like Cerberus had eyes everywhere and a three-headed dog can see much more than a one-headed on, it was a fitting name._


	7. Save You

_I can't believe the amount of love I've gotten for this silly love story. Thanks 256 and stupidamericanidioms91; you're the best. Pun completely intended._

_The first scene was a little different the first time I wrote it. I actually had Blaine attempt to "service" Pearl when she offers to have him live with her, and she freaks out because-surprise!-rape survivors don't generally like guys they've known for a few weeks suddenly try to have sex with them. But then (spoilers!) I realized Pearl wouldn't react to Blaine as kindly next chapter if she's as mistrustful of him as something like that would make her. So I switched it to this instead. I'm going insert a minor violence warning for the scene with italics coming up._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Nola Fallacci, the show "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" where she is from, or the song "Save You" by Kelly Clarkson._

* * *

><p><em>"I wish I could save you.<br>I wish I could say to you,  
>'I'm not going nowhere.'<br>I wish I could say to you,  
>'It's gonna be alright.'"<em>

Chapter VII: Save You

When Blaine asked, the Andersons didn't care if he lived with Pearl or not, so she started picking him up every day after school. She didn't live in Lima, so she had rented a hotel room next to the one Reid and Hotch had pooled together their money for.

"So, Blaine, what do you want for breakfast?" Pearl asked, taking out a bowl of Top Ramen. It seemed to be the only thing she ate. Blaine wondered why. _It's because it's cheap, you idiot, _he thought, feeling a twinge of guilt as he thought of the money this room must cost on top of what he was making her spend on feeding him.

"Noodles, are fine," he said, nodding to her bowl. She nodded and poured bubbling water into it, the splash covering the squeak of the mattress as Blaine flinched back. When she passed the steaming Styrofoam bowl over to him, however, she couldn't ignore the ashen cast of his face.

"Blaine, what's wrong?" she asked, putting the noodles aside but still holding on to the thermos of hot water as she walked closer.

Panicked, angry, and trembling, Blaine knocked the thermos away from him. It splashed all across Pearl's front. She screamed, and Blaine stood up shakily.

"Oh my god," tears shone on his face. "I'm so sorry. Please forgive me," he said, grabbing a few napkins to try to wipe away the boiling liquid. She backed away, still covering her face, and disappeared into the bathroom. The pounding on the door increased Blaine's terror, and by the time he opened it, he was a babbling mess.

Reid took pity on the young man immediately, and Hotch might have glared less, but when Pearl came out of the bathroom with a scarlet complexion and a wild expression, they turned to Blaine with angry faces.

"What did you do?" Hotch roared, furious that someone his niece was trying so hard to help would treat her with such callous disregard.

Blaine mewled, and Pearl stood up for him. "I bumped into him and got water all over my face. I'm fine," she smiled winningly. "It doesn't matter."

Blaine looked at her with a dumbstruck expression, and Reid and Hotch looked at each other before accepting the lie. Pearl was unnecessarily protective of children, so they'd have a better chance if they cornered her separately.

The second they left, Pearl turned to Blaine. "What the hell was that?" she asked in a quiet voice.

Blaine looked down. "I…" he began to cry silently.

Pearl couldn't keep herself from wrapping Blaine in a warm embrace, and they stood there for a few minutes before Blaine finally stopped sniffing.

* * *

><p><em>Mary Shonka smiles at me. She isn't that much taller than me, but I am terrified of her, and back away until I'm against the wall. I would try to run away, but my clothes are gone.<em>

_"Talk dirty to me, Kitty," she says in a singsong voice that goes with oversized lollipops and blond corkscrew curls, not this woman. I shake my head, and she twists one of my nipples. "I said talk, you stupid cat," now her voice is a bit more like her. But I still can't make a sound. My throat is too dry._

_"Fine," she says, sneering as she drags me into the kitchen. I expect a knife, so when she stops us in front of a steaming pot, I don't know what's going on. Then she dumps it in my lap. I scream and choke as a wave of unbearable pain shoots through me like a bolt of lightning._

_"Say something, dammit!" she yells._

* * *

><p>Blaine looked up at Pearl, the awful choking cries not subsiding. "I can't believe I did that to you," he apologized. Her face was red and looked close to bleeding.<p>

"It was an accident," Pearl said gently, "but you can't let these things control you any longer, Blaine. I'm not saying you have to talk to Rue Shonka or Krej Etelpmoc today, but you're going to want to see that the monsters only have as much power over you as you're willing to give them."

Blaine looked up at her and the look in his eyes—like he was expecting to be shunned—broke her heart. "Like Karofsky and Azimio?" he asked.

"Exactly," Pearl nodded, hope blossoming in her heart, and smiled. "Now, Blaine, I told you I'm going to be talking to my aunt in Quantico today. Don't worry, I'll still be there to pick you up and make you breakfast, okay?"

Blaine nodded, trying to contain his fear.

* * *

><p>"I still can't believe you did that," Garcia laughed. "Of course, they totally deserved it," JJ, Prentiss, and Morgan were silently appreciative, but Garcia was still the only one to publicly applaud Hotch's actions toward the Andersons.<p>

"Yes, but now, unless we have a warrant to get evidence and build a case, we can't come near the Andersons," Hotch was starting to regret his momentary loss of control. "We won't get evidence unless we can talk to them." He paced around in his hotel room.

Reid frowned, an idea coming to him. "Wait, Garcia, you said that the Andersons had a son," he began. "Who is he?"

Hotch looked at Reid as if he was insane. "Blaine Anderson," he wondered if the drugs had affected Reid's brain more than he had let on.

"No," Reid shook his head. "The Andersons bought Blaine from Ireland," his voice shook with barely contained anger.

Hotch's face froze in surprise until he turned to the computer analyst. "Garcia, I need every single record you have on the Anderson boy. Where is he now?"

"Um," the sounds of typing overshadowed everything else, "he's dead," Garcia sounded heartbroken.

"How?" Hotch asked.

Garcia typed some more, then gasped. "The coroner's report says he died of blunt force trauma from falling on a potato on the kitchen table when he tried to reach for the fan. He was three," she was seething.

Reid flipped a few pages. "I've heard that somewhere," he muttered. An eidetic memory could really come in handy sometimes. "Here!" he pointed to a page. "When Blaine was admitted bleeding from the anus, the parents said he was reaching for the fan when he fell on the kitchen table and landed on a potato."

"What are the chances of that happening twice?" Sue asked from the doorway. Reid and Hotch whirled around.

"Mom?" Reid mouthed wordlessly.

"How did you get here?" Hotch demanded, stepping forward.

Sue stopped and stared at Reid. "Spencer Reid, I presume?" Reid nodded numbly. "Well, after I was arrested for felony murder, I had to use someone's face, and I figured I might as well use the face of someone who would never have the occasion to notice. Your mother's in Jean's hospital-former hospital," Sue corrected herself.

Reid's eyes widened. "You know my mother?"

Sue smiled, angles softening into curves. "I gave her a copy of Proust for Christmas," she admitted.

Reid smiled, jumped forward, and hugged a thoroughly shocked Sue. Behind her, Kurt walked up to Hotch. "I will attend your agent's funeral, Agent Hotchner," the countertenor said.

"How did you get the key to our hotel room?" Hotch asked.

"Sue blackmailed the bellhop," Kurt answered.

"Well, what do you guys say that I take you all," with a huge smile, Sue patted Reid's shoulder so hard, his knees buckled, "and Diana Reid to the Lima Bean?"

Now Kurt was thoroughly shocked. "I-I have s-school," he stammered.

"Rumors of Reid's death have been greatly exaggerated," Hotch patted Kurt's shoulder much more gently without smiling. "You're definitely coming with us."

* * *

><p>Noella Caine-Fallacci had kept her husband's last name even though he had been dead for years. She had borne three children for him: two boys and a girl. Those ties didn't go without a fight. Sometimes, she went home and it took her a minute to remember why little voices were not welcoming her.<p>

She no longer blamed her niece, of course. Horatio's adopted daughter had done her best to stop DJ Pratt. And when Nola needed to be held through the lonely, tear-filled nights, Pearl had dropped everything to be there for her. So when Pearl asked to meet Nola, there had been no doubt that they would meet.

"How are you?" Pearl asked timidly. _Why is she so nervous?_ Nola wondered. Pearl was one of the most capable women Nola knew. The fact that Pearl was frightened now could only be from one thing.

"I'm good," Nola replied, wondering which one of them would bring up the giant elephant in the room first.

Pearl sighed and caved. "Aunt Ella, I know we haven't seen each other for a while, and I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am. I wish I could've saved them."

"Can it, Pearl," Nola said bluntly. "I've done some looking into Pratt on my own, and do you know what I found?"

Pearl shook her head mutely.

"My husband Percy and Pratt had been exchanging emails for quite some time. Apparently, in exchange for a hundred grand, Percy agreed to let Pratt into your garage. I think you'll agree that burning the car after he killed my family and your wife was simply a ploy to get rid of evidence and a tracking device," Nola said.

Pearl's eyes widened and filled with tears. "So, he knew?"

Nola shook her head. "No. Pratt just offered the money, and I think Percy figured that there wasn't anything Aidan's apartment worth $100,000, except the chance to see where the famous Pearl Rush lived," her voice was bitter.

Pearl nodded. "I'm glad you told me," she said honestly. "But the real reason I'm here is because I need an arrest warrant for the Andersons. I know there hasn't been a crime reported yet, but I need you to tell Strauss that the BAU can't come home yet."

Nola blinked. "You didn't hear, then, I'm guessing."

"Hear what?"

"The BAU has already established a pattern of abuse. The Lima police are issuing warrants for the Andersons as we speak, I believe."

Pearl's hands flew to her mouth. "I-I have to go," she stood hastily. "I have to find Blaine. If I know him, and I do, he's about to do something very stupid." She turned away from a very confused Nola to call Hotch.

"Where are you? Oh, never mind. Just get to McKinley ASAP, okay? People need saving. I'll join you as soon as I can."

* * *

><p>Blaine knew there was no point in putting off the inevitable much longer. He excused himself two minutes before the end of Glee Club and went to the bathroom to vomit out his excess fear. He wished he knew where Kurt was. Actually, he was glad he didn't. If Kurt went into the gym with him, he would learn the truth, and Blaine wasn't sure he wanted Kurt to know just yet. Someday, but not now.<p>

Everyone ignored it when the school's football players skipped class, so Blaine knew to head to the gym. When he opened the door, Azimio and Karofsky were sitting together. "Can I speak with you two for a minute?" he asked.

"Animals aren't allowed at school," Azimio said rudely.

"Oh, but you are?" Blaine felt his temper rise. "People like you would rather kick others in a closet than acknowledge the fact that they're different."

Bingo! Karofsky immediately stopped. However, Azimio was still advancing on Blaine. "Are you talking to me, you faggot boy-toy?" he demanded.

Blaine tried to control his shaking. "I'm not a toy," he said as steadily as he could, "and you can't play with me. I don't care how unworthy you two think I am."

"On the contrary," Karofsky grinned cruelly.

"I guess we'll just have to teach you," Azimio drew his fist back like he did yesterday, but this time when he lowered it, Blaine felt the pain of being punched.

"Hey!" Mercedes, Tina, and Rachel were freakishly loud by themselves, but put them together and they were deafening.

"Leave him alone!" Finn yelled as well, coming over. Another football player—this time not someone Blaine recognized but still dangerous—pushed Finn away.

"Just because you've become a faggot-loving homo doesn't mean we all are," the third player said. A fourth and a fifth player came up and the New Directions began looking a little terrified, but still determined to save their new member.

Mercedes, Tina, and Rachel launched themselves at Karofsky, forcing him into the wall. Finn and Mike pushed the jock who had insulted the former into the ground and kept him there. Lauren, Sam, Quinn, Brittany, and Santana took care of the other two players. But Azimio was still up and moving, despite Puck's best efforts.

"Mike, go help Tina and Mercedes!" Rachel shouted as she ran to Puck's rescue. However, everyone was still struggling when Sue, Diana, the profilers, and Kurt ran in.

Then the football players started struggling for air. Pearl's face was redder than it had been this morning, and she looked like she was about to kill multiple people.

"Blaine!" Kurt reached down and touched his boyfriend's black eye. The tears spilled over. "I wish I could save you," he whispered, hugging his boyfriend close.

"You are all expelled!" Sue shouted, gesturing at the football players, who were too busy not breathing to pay much attention to her. It wasn't until Diana and Brittany nudged Pearl that she shook her head and seemed to come back into herself.

"So glad I'm not Dad," she muttered, storming away like a hurricane.

"What happened here?" Hotch asked.

"Blaine came here to talk to these two idiots," Mercedes gave Azimio a kick, "and they hit him, so of course we had to stop them."

Hotch observed the heavily-panting group. "You did a good job," he told the New Directions.

Reid wondered if his boss was losing his mind, but only for a second; they had people to arrest.

* * *

><p><em>I apologize for the abruptness of Nola and Pearl's talk, but since they have met after the accident and before this encounter, of course Nola and Pearl would have discussed the murders. Besides, anyone who's seen Nola Fallacci on L&amp;O: CI knows that she's about as blunt as they come, so there's no way she'd let Pearl apologize, and there's no way she'd not dig into her family's death.<em>

_Shonka means "dog," and Mary can be taken to mean "sea of bitterness," which is pretty much what she dishes out._

_Next time, we go to trial and something horrible happens! Seriously, you guys are going to hate what I do to Blaine next chapter, but I've had that in mind since the very beginning of the story. Also, Pearl is going to betray Blaine. Yup, just when you thought it was over._

_I know the AN is waay too long, but please leave a review anyway!_


	8. The End of the Innocence

_Sorry, I accidentally only put up half the chapter the first time I uploaded it. I love your reviews, guys. 256, snape-rules44, and stupidamericanidioms91, you guys are awesome and I apologize for the delay in updating. However, _**_I HATE LEGALESE!_**_ But regardless of my personal feelings, here is the eighth chapter, half of which is Hotch's testimony. __First, a few explanations. According to many fanfics, Blaine is from Westerville, so in Westerville he will stay! Glee also doesn't have any characters who are lawyers, so I brought in someone else. Also, I know that only minors who are suspects need to have a parent or guardian present when they're being questioned by a lawyer, but the scene's in there for a reason. Also, does anyone know who the person swearing in witnesses in court with the Bible is called?_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Alexandra Cabot and Elliot Stabler or the show they're from, "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit." Nor do I own the song "The End of the Innocence" by Don Henley. I do, however, own Darren Criss...in my dreams. -sigh-_

* * *

><p><em>"You can lay your head back on the ground.<br>Let your hair fall all around me.  
>Offer up your best defense,<br>But this is the end  
>This is the end of the innocence."<em>

Chapter VIII: The End of the Innocence

"Oh, for goodness sake, Pearl!" Hotch snarled. "We have perfectly good federal prosecutors for cases like this!"

"But you're better than them," she said simply. "You're committed to this case."

"That's exactly why I can't do it," Hotch said. "I'm too emotionally involved. Just be glad I haven't taken you off the case already."

Pearl blinked back tears. "Look, I know what I went through was nowhere near as bad as what Blaine or K-Adam had to go through," she caught herself at the last second. "And if I nearly killed myself because of that nightmare, can you imagine what their nightmare must be like?"

Hotch sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose to stave off the headache he could feel coming on. "Pearl, get someone who's good at representing sex crimes."

Pearl pause, a slow smile spreading across her face. Hotch vaguely heard her say something about Alexandra Cabot before she ran away.

* * *

><p>"So, do you think you can help this Blaine kid?" Alexandra Cabot asked.<p>

Stabler shrugged. "I can try. I haven't been through as much as he has. Really, I think Pearl just wants me there so she doesn't have to do it all by herself."

"That's a good thing," Cabot replied, "but I still can't believe she talked me into representing Blaine in a **federal** case."

"We've worked together for years. Is it really that difficult to believe that she can talk people into doing anything?" Elliot Stabler asked.

Cabot smiled. "Well, I hope she doesn't think we're at her beck and call."

They paused and looked at each other, realizing they both flew from New York to Ohio because one twenty-four-year-old woman said she needed their help. They laughed, because there was no way they were not at her beck and call.

* * *

><p>Reid knocked on Karofskys' door while Stabler took care of the Azimios. Pearl went to Elohssa Latot's after going to Mary Shonka's, and Hotch went back to the Andersons', this time with a warrant.<p>

"You're all under arrest for child abuse, child endangerment, kidnapping, conspiracy, and rape one."

* * *

><p>"Alright, guys," Mr. Schuester repeated his usual greeting. "I know this didn't work for us last year, but maybe that's because I didn't utilize you guys in the right way. When you boys did the mashup of songs by female artists, I realized you were more creative than ever, and the girls were the most spirited when they did songs by female artists as well. So I figured we should do," he nodded for Puck to slam a drumroll, which barely lasted half a second until Puck slammed the stick through the drum.<p>

"Uh, oops?" Puck offered. Rachel stared and melted a little.

"That's okay," Mr. Schuester said, thinking that this was an excuse to get a new drum set. "Well, we're doing a Kelly Clarkson medley."

Rachel raised her hand confidently, butt almost leaving her seat.

"Mike," everyone was surprised that Mike had actually raised his hand, since he sat in the back and no one had known he even had a voice.

"I vote that we dedicate the performance to Kurt and Blaine," Mike said. "He deserves it. Kelly Clarkson traditionally sings power ballads, and if anyone deserves to be reminded that they're powerful, it's them."

Rachel lowered her hand, completely resting against her chair.

"That's a really good idea, Mike," Mr. Schuester was impressed. That was the biggest number of words Mike had ever said. "Those in favor?"

Every single person in the room raised his or her hand.

"It's decided! Now, it's time to vote on songs."

* * *

><p>"Pearl," Blaine looked nervous. "During my testimony, some things are going to come up that I don't want Kurt to hear."<p>

Pearl sighed. "If you two love each other—"

"If I knock on the stand three times with my fingers, take Kurt outside. Please," he begged, looking like he would cry.

Pearl nodded, unable to meet Blaine's eyes because she **was** crying.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure these are right?" Reid asked Garcia.<p>

"Of course. Every single bank transaction between the Andersons, the Karofskys, the Shonkas, the Latots, the Azimios, and the Etelpmocs are on there."

"But the families have paid more than the Andersons got. The Karofskys paid the Andersons three times, but there are two other $400 payments made from their account. The Latots have paid five times more than the Andersons received, and it looks like the Shonkas have only paid the Andersons thrice, not thirteen times."

Garcia frowned. "Why do you think that is?"

Reid frowned. "I don't know."

* * *

><p>"Do we have to go to trial, Agent Rush?" Blaine asked timidly in the middle of pre-trial prep.<p>

"Of course, Blaine. The only way to make sure they can't hurt anyone else is to get them to court and in jail."

"I'm just worried we'll lose and they'll be angry."

"Well, if we lose and they're angry, I can take care of you."

"You know what you're going to be expected to say on the stand?" Cabot interrupted what felt like a tender family moment.

Blaine nodded, still nervous. As a minor, he had to have a parent or guardian present when he was with a lawyer. Seeing as his parents were the ones under arrest, he picked Pearl to stay with him. Otherwise, everything that happened inside the lawyer's office was between Blaine and Cabot.

"Hey, Blaine," Pearl looked at the boy who was only seven years younger than she was, and chickened out. "Why did you want me to sit with you when Cabot was prepping you for trial?"

Blaine shrugged. "You're motherly. You took care of me. You were kind of like Anna, you know, before she just left."

Pearl's eyes softened, and she wondered exactly what kind of person she was if she hated her friend a little for treating her son-

_Whoa, whoa, stop right there, girl, _she chided herself_. Blaine might want to go his own separate way after this._

"Blaine, look me in the eye," Pearl took both his hands in hers. "I promise I won't leave until you are able to get on without me."

Blaine only hesitated a moment before he pulled her into a hug. She laughed and tried to ruffle his hair as they pulled away, but her hand simply slid off his gelled hair. "I love how I can finally do that to somebody shorter than me," she giggled before running off to find Stabler.

* * *

><p>"Docket ending 149, The People vs. Lola and Cailean Anderson, Elohssa Latot, Krej Etelpmoc, Mary Shonka, Amma and Muunokhoi Azimio, and Lilith and Chernobog Karofsky. The charges are: one count of kidnapping, three counts of child abuse, nine counts of conspiracy, and eighty-five counts of rape one."<p>

"How do the defendants plead?"

"Not guilty, Your Honor."

"Can we hear the People on bail?"

"$500,000 on each, Your Honor," Cabot replied.

"Your Honor, these are fine and upstanding citizens with very strong ties to their local communities."

"Those communities are also very wealthy," Cabot countered.

"Bail is set at $250,000 each, cash or bond. Next case."

* * *

><p>"The People call Aaron Hotchner to the stand."<p>

Hotch made his way to the man holding the Bible. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"

"I do," Hotch said before moving to the stand.

"Please state your full name to the court."

"Aaron Thomas Hotchner."

"What is your occupation?"

"I run the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI."

"In what kind of capacity did you work the case of Blaine Anderson?"

"I aided in the profiling of our unknown subjects, or UNSUBs, and their arrest."

"And what did you find?"

"These types of sexual sadists are likely to escalate in violence. They are unlikely to voluntarily stop committing their crimes and are therefore a danger to society."

"How exactly did you find the Andersons suspicious?"

"When I went to ask them about who hurt their son, they reacted as if they did not know the victim was their son."

"What did you suspect was the reason?"

"Objection, calls for speculation."

"Actually, I'm calling for years of experience as both a federal agent and a prosecutor," Cabot said coolly.

"Overruled. Answer the question, Agent Hotchner."

"I suspected child abuse."

"And what did you find out during the course of the investigation?"

"The victim was indeed not their son."

"Who was the Andersons' son, Agent Hotchner?"

"Objection, relevance?"

"Establishing a pattern of abuse, Your Honor."

"Overruled. You may proceed, Ms. Cabot."

"A boy named Harry."

"Where is Harry now?"

"In the Westerville Cemetery because of blunt force trauma."

"Your Honor, I'd like to present People's Exhibit A, the coroner's report on Harry Anderson," Cabot gave a copy to each of the jurors. "I have no more questions for this witness," she said, sitting down.

The defense lawyer stood. "Mr. Hotchner," leaving out Hotch's title was clearly a deliberate ploy to take away his authority. "Why did you speak to the Andersons?"

"Parents are usually the best source of information on a child's friends, who are usually the best source of information on a child. Also, in child abuse cases, the parents are always suspects."

"I see. So, the Andersons were always suspects?"

"Yes."

"Did you bother to check out other suspects?"

"Yes, hence the other people named in the case," Hotch pointed to Krej, Mary, Elohssa, the Karofskys, and the Azimios.

"But why are the Andersons named in it?"

"They fit the profile."

"Isn't a profile just guesswork?"

Hotch paused a moment. "You're considering leaving your wife. You keep playing with your wedding ring, as if you're going to take it off, but you get the the smear of blue ink on your finger and you stop, because you love your child enough to get on the ground and help him or her color."

The lawyer was stunned, staring at his hand.

"I'll give you a moment if you want to go wash it off," Hotch offered.

Pearl couldn't help her laugh, which set off a chain reaction until even Blaine was doubled over on the hard wooden benches.

"You physically assaulted the Andersons," the lawyer muttered.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear the question," Hotch quipped again.

"Did you physically assault Mr. Anderson?"

"In a moment of anger, I lost control. It was a regrettable incident and a bad decision not to be repeated."

"So you admit to bad judgment?"

Hotch was trapped. "Yes."

"So you do misjudge situations?"

"Yes," Hotch sighed.

"Then is it possible that you not only misjudged the Anderson situation, but the upstanding citizens themselves?"

Hotch was lost, and he knew it. "Yes."

"No more questions, Your Honor," the defense lawyer went to the bathroom.

"Redirect, Your Honor?" Cabot stood.

"Go ahead."

"Agent Hotchner, have you ever undergone anger management therapy?"

"A few years ago, after my wife Hayley died."

"So you admit to emotional problems?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever made an inaccurate profile?"

"I have made profiles that needed to be revised as more victims were found."

"Would you say your emotions play a role in the profiles you construct?"

"No."

"No more questions, Your Honor," Cabot sincerely hoped she had saved this case.

"You may step down, Agent Hotchner."

"The People call Spencer Reid to the stand."

* * *

><p><em>Lilith means "of the night." It's also the name of an Assyrian demon. Chernobog is the Slavic god of grief, evil, and darkness. Amma means "mother," and she's going to be playing a pretty big maternal role later. And Muunokhoi means "vicious dog," so I hope that clears things up.<em>

_Next time, Reid, Aimi, and Pearl testify and Pearl gets adoption papers drawn up._

_Like? Dislike? Review! -puppy dog eyes-_


	9. Breakaway

_256 and stupidamericanidioms91, you ROCK MY SOX! Thank you so much for your reviews!_

_Okay, here we go with Reid and Aimi's testimony. Pearl's will come up next time. I was watching "How I Met Your Mother" on DVD last night and Ted's line, "I also sat next to you guys at football games" made me laugh so hard! But you're going to want tissues when Aimi starts talking. Seriously, it'll be **awful**! Still, o__ne of our favorite same-sex couples experience a turning point here, hooray!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own the song "Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson. Varda Swan, however, is mine. She's Pearl's psychiatrist and a social worker. Don't worry, we won't be __seeing her again. Really, I just wanted to further the plot some more._

* * *

><p>Chapter IX: Breakaway<p>

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"

"I do not believe in any gods, but yes, I swear."

"You may take the stand." Reid sat down.

"Please state your name and occupation to the court," Cabot began.

"My name is Spencer Gray Reid, and I work for the BAU under SSA Hotchner."

"And what are your findings on the Blaine Anderson case?"

"I found a pattern of abuse."

"How so?"

"Well, if you've seen the coroner's report on Harry Anderson's death-"

"Objection! Is it really necessary to upset the parents like this by reminding them of the loss of their only child?"

"Parents never need reminding; their existence is a reminder. If they are responsible for that loss and could be responsible for another in the future, I think they should be upset," Cabot said.

"You may proceed, prosecutor. The witness will continue his testimony."

"The coroner asked how Harry could have sustained such severe head injuries, and Lola's response was, I quote, 'Harry was trying to grab a balloon off the fan. He fell and smashed his head against a frozen potato on the kitchen table.'"

Lola wailed, and a few jurors shot her sympathetic looks. Kurt bristled, but Blaine rubbed his shoulder and the countertenor reluctantly relaxed.

"And how does that establish abuse?" Cabot asked.

"Multiple doctors have noted anal tearing and scarring on Blaine Anderson's medical file. When asked, Lola gave the same response each time, almost word for word. Blaine is playing with the fan when he falls and lands on a frozen potato on the table."

Cabot faced the jury. "The same excuse over and over. Blaine must really love those fans if he's willing to have a potato up his ass each time."

"Just like Harry tried to eat one with his ear," Stabler muttered.

"Objection!"

"I'm not making an official statement!" Stabler protested.

"It doesn't matter. You are unduly affecting the jury. You may leave this courtroom," said the judge.

Stabler huffed, but Pearl pushed him gently and he stood up to walk out.

"Any more questions for this witness?

"No, Your Honor."

"The Defense has no questions for the witness at this time, but reserves the right to call upon him at a later date."

"Granted. The witness may exit the stand."

"The People call Amanda Rosenberg to the stand."

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"

Aimi fingerd the delicate silver cross, glittering with small diamonds, that hung from her neck. "I do."

"You may take the stand." She did.

"Please state your full name and occupation to the stand."

"Amanda Calixte Rosenberg, and I'm a nurse at the Lima Heights Hospital."

"In what kind of capacity did you work this case?"

"I did the initial physical examination of the victim, Blaine Anderson, and I wrote the report detailing child abuse."

Blaine tapped his fingers on the railing twice, but Kurt grabbed both this hands and squeezed, so Blaine squeezed back.

"Your Honor, I would like to present People's Exhibits C and D, photos of Blaine Anderson taken when he was admitted on Friday; I would also like to present People's Exhibits E and F, photos taken when he was released on Sunday." She put up the blown-up pictures on stands that the security at the sides of the court set up for her.

Bile rose in the back of Kurt's throat. He had seen the damage before, but never in such detail. His breath came in short gasps, and Blaine rubbed soothing circles down his back as Pearl discreetly slid a plastic bag to Kurt's feet.

"Can you describe what these marks are?" Cabot pointed to thin, raised white lines all over Blaine's back.

"They're marks from being flogged, or struck repeatedly by a switch, rope, or belt."

"What about these?" Cabot pointed to the shiny, pink scars on Blaine's chest.

"Those are burns. The round ones look like they might be from cigarettes, since they're the right size. The patches are probably from a hot liquid being poured on him," said Aimi.

"How were these made?" Cabot pointed the inch-long marks that snaked around Blaine's skin.

"I see those a lot. They're stitches."

"And how about these?" Cabot asked, pointing to the small round scars that appeared in pairs all over Blaine's body.

"They look like burns, but I'm not sure what caused them."

"Alright. Thank you, Ms. Rosenberg. I have no more questions for this witness."

Lucky Sawyer, who not have looked out of place on a recruiting poster for the Aryan Nation with his blond hair and blue eyes, stood up to cross-examine. "So, you don't know what the two marks are from, do you?"

"No, I do not. I've never seen anything like them before."

Sawyer nodded. "Well, Miss Rosenberg, are you a doctor?"

"I've already said that I was a nurse."

Sawyer sneered. "Can you tell me if you've been in contact with any of the investigators in this case before working on it?"

"Yes," Aimi pointed to Pearl. "I knew Metta Jones."

"And how were you two related?"

"We were lovers," Aimi's voice was small.

"You were **lesbians,**" Sawyer spat the word out, "and you expected me to believe that you two didn't influence each other in any way? Isn't it true that you came up with a sob story and talked your girlfriend into it?"

"We broke up before then. We haven't talked since the case began, except to argue about whether or not Blaine should have been released from the hospital as early as he was, and for her to stay away from me. If anything, the only influence we've had on each other is negative. The fact that we agree that those sick people hurt Blaine means we're convinced of it enough to put aside our differences."

Sawyer didn't look happy. "No more questions."

"Court will adjourn until 4:00 tomorrow after noon."

* * *

><p>"Hit it, Rachel!" Puck cheered. Rachel beamed at him and began belting out her song.<p>

_"Trying hard to reach out,  
><em>_But when I tried to speak out,  
>Felt like no one could hear me.<br>Wanted to belong here,  
>But something felt so wrong here,<br>So I'd pray I could break away__."_

Everyone joined in on the chorus, and even Mr. Schue found himself humming along. The energy in this song was infectious, but still, something was lacking. No matter how hard he stared at Emma from across the room, he couldn't put his finger on it.

* * *

><p>Kurt had not yet stopped sobbing, and Blaine held him tightly. Pearl occasionally reached over to take Kurt's tissue and hand him a new one, until she realized that it was her presence that kept the boys from talking.<p>

"I have to go get more food if I'm going to be feeding two teenage boys," she muttered as she ran out the door.

"I didn't know it was so bad," Kurt murmured as soon as she was out of sight. "How did you survive?"

"I don't know," Blaine said honestly. "How did you survive the bullying? You just learn to accept it eventually, don't you? It becomes your reality, no matter how bad your reality is, and you just get used to it."

Kurt's face twisted and he reached up to kiss Blaine. It was different than the kisses Blaine got outside the courtroom today. It wasn't soft, as if Kurt was afraid he would break. This one was passionate, as if Kurt wanted so desperately to take away all his pain that it was palpable and were those stars he was seeing as they lowered themselves onto the bed?

A few hours later, Kurt and Blaine were spent and panting heavily on the bed.

"I hope I didn't push you into anything," Kurt said softly.

Blaine laughed. "No, Kurt. I need to remember that sex can be good and it's not just a weapon used to hurt me with."

Kurt looked up at him with moony eyes. "I will never, ever use sex to hurt you," he promised. "I was afraid that would happen, but now that it's clear it won't, we need to do it more often."

"No, you don't," Pearl's voice was muffled. Whether it was from mortification or mirth, the boys were not sure, but it spurred them to dress faster than they ever had in their lives. "Be glad everyone else is gone for lunch."

"We're decent!" Kurt yelled, shirt on backwards. Blaine's shirt was inside-out and sideways, and he was gave up trying to put his pants on and simply stood out of sight.

Pearl would deny whimpering when she saw the cum-stained sheets on the bed to her dying day. "Thanks a lot, boys. Do you know how much I have to travel? I will never be allowed inside this hotel again!"

Kurt's strangely loose pants suddenly made a puddle around his ankles and he realized he was wearing Blaine's decidedly bigger jeans. He looked up at Pearl, terrified she was about to faint—she was so white!—but she suddenly burst out laughing.

Soon, however, she sobered back up. "Okay, boys, we need to get ready for the trial."

"But it's not until 4:00," Blaine whined, switching pants with Kurt.

"It's past noon and neither of you boys have eaten. Now, go shower," Pearl ordered firmly. "Separately," she added with a smile. Kurt dashed into Pearl's shower and Blaine began his way to the shower in Reid and Hotch's room when he saw the stain from where he semi-accidentally burned Pearl. He turned around and helped her strip the soiled bedding off the bed.

"You can take my bed tonight," Pearl said, "since it'll actually have a blanket."

"No, Mom-I mean, Pearl, I'll be fine," he caught himself.

"No, it's okay," Pearl smiled, purposefully unspecific. "I have to get this to the laundry room," she held up the bundled sheets. She looked thoughtfully up. "Or, maybe I'll leave them on Reid's bed," a slow, mischievous smile spread across her face.

Blaine laughed at her girlish prank and left for the shower. Pearl, on her way to the laundry room, walked over to Kurt and Stabler's shared hotel room.

"Hey, Stabler, I need you to take the boys to court today, okay? I have to ask for a couple of favors from Cabot, and one of them involves doing something Blaine won't be comfortable with."

"Taking the boys won't be a problem. What are you really asking?"

Pearl was silent for a second. "You can make the excuse that you just got here and you're unfamiliar with the territory, so you got lost."

"Get lost where, Pearl?"

"Dalton Academy. Pick up a couple of Blaine's friends while you're at it."

Stabler rolled his eyes, but voiced his consent and left. Pearl started to text Reid.

_Dude, where's your wife?_

"I'm here," Varda said from behind, so close that she could read Pearl's texts.

Varda Swan was five feet nothing, a perfect size zero, and Pearl doubted her weight was in the triple digits. Her hair was long and black, her eyes were big and deep brown, and her face was a combination of pretty and handsome with thick eyebrows and full lips, the bottom one slightly fuller than the top.

"Varda, how exactly does a woman go about adopting a person who has family elsewhere?" Pearl asked, unruffled by the fact that her friend had materialized from thin air. "I don't know who his parents are, I don't even know if they want him back or not, but the fact that they sold him should make it okay for me to adopt him, right?"

Varda frowned. "I'm not a legal expert, Pearl."

Pearl rolled her eyes. "Varda, you're married to Reid. He probably has every law of every state memorized." She cleared her throat. "Look, you're a genius. Just because you don't have the law degree you could get in a year if you wanted to doesn't mean you're not a legal expert. Now, there's a boy who needs your help to get the family he deserves. Now, I'm not saying I'm it, but I'll try my damned hardest."

Varda heaved a long-suffering sigh. "Fine, but you owe me so big, you're not going to be able to pay me back until Guam lands a man on the moon."

Pearl pressed her finger to the petite Asian's nose. "Thanks V! You're the best!"

"And don't sell yourself short; you're going to be a great mother," Varda said kindly. The friends moved forward for another hug, and despite the fact that Varda was hugging someone half-dead, she felt considerably warmer.

* * *

><p>"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you…um, madam, what are you doing?"<p>

Pearl pulled out a copy of the Constitution and placed it over the Bible before she put her hand on top of it, "I figure, if I'm going to be upholding the law, the law should be sacred to me, shouldn't it, if the Bible isn't?"

"You may take the stand." Pearl did, noting with gratitude that Blaine and Kurt were absent. She for one would not be eating meat for a long time.

* * *

><p><em>Redvines to anyone who understood the V-line! (Sorry, I couldn't help myself!) We'll get into Pearl's actual testimony next time. I'll start off with some humor, and then we're all going to cry. Hard. And want to throw things at Lucky Sawyer (switch the first letters and you'll have the reason I chose that name). Oh, and one important note: THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL NOT MAKE SENSE IF YOU HAVE NOT READ <span>Little Earthquakes<span> OR EMMA CS ME'S Acting is Just Pretentious, Temporary Suicide (which is so much better than this that not reading it should be against the law)._

_And Varda's description is taken word for word from a description my girlfriend (of seven years now, amazingly. Who says young love never lasts?) gave of me to her aunt so she could paint a picture of the two of us together. I'm publishing it because it sends shivers down my spine every single time I see it, and I want the whole world to know that Heather C. and I are in love!_

_I know the AN is waay too long, but please leave a review anyway!_


	10. Beautiful Disaster

_256 and stupidamericanidioms91 should know that this story is basically written for them at this point since I don't think anyone else is reading it. Don't say I didn't warn you that this was going to be unpleasant. There won't be much humor in here because I want to get this trial over with as soon as possible. The next chapter might be the last actual trial chapter, if I can wing it enough._

_Also, Ryan Murphy, please stop constantly retconning your own canon. When I started writing Glee fanfiction, you said that Blaine was a year older than Kurt. In an interview a few weeks ago, you said he's a year younger. So, from this point on, I will write Blaine as a sophomore. Please disregard all other references I have made to Blaine's age to practice for what you're going to have to do to the show as well._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the song "Beautiful Disaster" by Kelly Clarkson. Oh, and I refuse to take ownership of Sawyer, because anyone who wants him can take him. Seriously._

* * *

><p>Chapter X: Beautiful Disaster<p>

Santana stood proudly in front of the choir, ready to belt out her song choice.

_"He's magic and myth_  
><em>As strong as what I believe<em>  
><em>A tragedy with<em>  
><em>More damage than a soul should see<em>  
><em>And do I try to change him?<em>  
><em>So hard not to blame him<em>  
><em>Hold on tight, hold on tight."<em>

* * *

><p>"Please state your full name and occupation for the court." <em>Oh dear god, <em>thought Cabot, _this will take forever._

Pearl's lips curled into an almost feral smile. "My name is Pearl Dulcibella Cyanne Love Azalea Ceinwen Caine-Rush, I am a crime scene investigator with the Miami and New York labs, a homicide detective with the Philadelphia and New York Police Departments, a profiler with the BAU, and a sex crimes detective with the NYPD. Under the alias Maren Brown I was a forensic anthropologist, and under the alias Metta Jones I was a medical examiner." A few jurors' eyes glazed over.

"So you consider yourself an experienced officer of the law despite your young age?" Cabot asked, shaking herself awake.

"Yes, I'm very good. I'm also modest."

A few jurors chuckled. Pearl smiled innocently at their reaction. She had charmed the jury, adding more points to Cabot.

"Why did you first suspect that Blaine Anderson was a slave?"

"He referred to Lola by her first name. I had already suspected abuse, but the majority of abused children refer to their parents as 'mom' or 'dad.' The fact that Blaine did not made me suspect something more sinister," Pearl's voice was no longer playful.

"Would you agree with Nurse Amanda Rosenberg's assessment of Blaine Anderson's injuries?"

"That they suggest long-term physical and sexual abuse? Yes."

"I would like to re-introduce People's Exhibit C into evidence. Going back to these double burns, do you know what could have caused them?"

"If I could have a piece of pork skin and a stun gun," Pearl said, glad she had explicitly told Stabler to take a detour when he drove the boys to the courtroom.

Cabot took the items from Aimi, giving the nurse a look that made Pearl pause, and gave them to the agent.

"Pig skin is the closest anatomically to human skin," Pearl said as she took apart the stun gun, flipped a few things around, adjusted a couple other things, and put it back together before she shocked the pig skin. Smoke rose from it as she picked it up to show the jurors that the marks were identical to the marks on Blaine. "Could you throw this away, please?" she handed it to Cabot.

The second Cabot came back to ask Pearl more questions, Stabler led Kurt and Blaine inside. _Damn_!

"How did you know that the modified stun gun was what produced these scars, Agent Rush?" Cabot knew she would undermine her case far less bringing this up than if the defense did first. Blaine froze, but Kurt tugged him toward the benches.

"I was captured and tortured for five months by a man named Francis Goehring, during which he often used this on me," Pearl answered, eyes on Cabot.

Cabot showed a blown-up picture of Pearl's wrecked body so that the marks were clearly visible. Pearl saw Blaine's face when Cabot shifted. His eyes were wide with understanding and no small amount of empathy, but he did not look shocked.

_Because he's been through something similar, _Pearl realized as she glared at Elohssa, who shifted in her seat and sneered cockily.

"How did this incident affect your work?"

"I became moody and moved in with my mother. But I took full advantage of my wonderful support system and thus was declared fit for duty by seven separate psychologists: one for each job I've continued to work."

Cabot nodded. "What made you suspect long-term abuse?"

"Kurt Hummel called the Lima Police Department one morning to report a rape. When we went to Blaine Anderson's room, we found a stained mattress. There was too much blood for it to be a singular assault," Pearl went on to explain how much scarred skin bled versus how much unscarred skin bled.

"And who was the assailant in this case?"

"Kurt Hummel reported himself as the rapist."

"He's in the audience right now, sitting next to his victim," Cabot pointed.

Pearl nodded. "When I came to take Blaine's statement, he told me they had been involved in a role-play gone wrong."

"I see. So Kurt Hummel did not willfully commit a crime?"

"None that we are aware of at this time."

"And would it be at all possible to assume that the marks on Blaine Anderson were caused by his assault by Kurt Hummel?"

"No," Pearl said. "One of the first things I did upon taking this case was put together a list of all of Blaine's hospital visits. The majority of them take place before Blaine and Kurt's first meeting."

"Could you possibly list off how many times Blaine Anderson has had to go to a hospital?" Cabot asked.

"To date, Blaine has had twenty-eight visits for broken or fractured bones, nineteen for infections, nine for organ damage, three for trauma so severe that he had to have surgery, thirteen visits to the emergency room for various reasons, and eight for excessive blood loss, two of which almost killed him."

Kurt gasped and Blaine hugged him tightly.

"What does that suggest to you?"

"Blaine has been abused from a young age, since far before he knew Kurt Hummel," Pearl replied, conviction ringing true in every syllable.

"Do you believe Kurt Hummel could have caused those injuries?"

"No. Kurt's stature makes it physically impossible for him to have caused the injuries I listed earlier."

"No more questions, Your Honor."

"Thank you, Ms. Cabot."

Sawyer stood up with a slimy smirk. "So, according to your own records, Mr. Hummel raped Mr. Anderson?"

"Accidentally, yes."

"Then wouldn't it be possible to assume this has been ongoing?"

"Kurt Hummel does not fit the profile of a sexual sadist," Pearl replied coolly.

"Then please tell us what kind of person fits the profile of a sexual sadist."

"A sexual sadist has pent-up anger waiting to explode at the kind of person they sexually attack. Ted Bundy's victims looked like the woman who jilted him in college. These kinds of predators often experience frustration at work or at home, and there will be a pattern of violence, eventually escalating to murder."

"Kurt Hummel has been bullied frequently in high school. Would that not cause pent-up anger?"

"Kurt has been bullied, yes, but by the athletes of McKinley. As far as I know, Blaine does not play sports."

"Kurt Hummel **raped **Blaine Anderson! If that isn't a warning sign, I don't know what is!" Sawyer shouted. Blaine began to shake, not with fear, but with anger. Kurt grabbed his hand, afraid his boyfriend would do something stupid. "And isn't it true, Ms. Rush, that the only reason you insisted Blaine Anderson was being abused is because your girlfriend believed that was the case. Weren't you tortured for five months by a man who managed to escape justice? Isn't it true that you're a rape victim out to get revenge on-" Sawyer suddenly stopped being able to breathe.

"Objection, badgering the witness," Cabot took advantage of everyone's momentary shock. Her voice snapped Pearl out of her anger-fueled haze. Sawyer took a deep breath.

"Sustained. Is there a question, Mr. Sawyer?"

"How has your emotional state affected your job?" he coughed.

"It hasn't. I made my peace as a rape survivor a decade ago. I aided in the capture of the man who abducted me for those five months you mentioned, and Aimi Rosenberg is my **ex**-girlfriend. The fact that we can agree on something after a less-than-amicable breakup should count toward the **strength** of the case, not the other way around."

Sawyer saw that he was not going to make this woman break unless he resorted to highly illegal means, and even then he might fail. "No more questions, Your Honor."

"Redirect, Your Honor?"

"Go ahead, Ms. Cabot."

"Agent Rush, do you believe Kurt Hummel is the cause of any of the damage to Blaine Anderson?"

"No. Rapists and their victims never fall in love no matter what the soap operas say," Pearl said, eyes dry.

"The People have no more questions for the witness at this time, but reserve the right to call upon her expertise at a later date."

"So granted."

"The Defense has no questions for this witness."

"You may exit the stand, Agent Rush."

"The People call Blaine Anderson to the stand."

* * *

><p>"Hello, is this Dalton Academy? Yes, I'm Penelope Garcia from the Behavioral Analysis Unit. I see several $400 donations from a Blaine Anderson to your school. Can you tell me what that was about?"<p>

"Oh, I see. Was Kurt Hummel unable to afford the tuition?"

"Holy donkeys, that's **really **expensive. Um, but I'm sure that you provide an education worthy of such a…steep tuition. But thank you for the information."

* * *

><p>"Please state your full name for the court."<p>

"Blaine Evert Anderson."

"Alright, Blaine Evert Anderson. Has anyone ever touched you inappropriately?"

"Objection."

"Sustained, be more specific."

Cabot took a deep breath. This was why she hated male victims; they were so much more shy. Well then, she would just have to be more blunt. "Has anyone ever used you for sex?"

Blaine's eyes widened at the directness of her question. "Yes."

"Are they all at the defense's table right now?"

"Yes."

"Besides spanking, has anyone ever hit you?" Cabot asked.

"Yes."

"Are they all at the defense's table right now?"

"Yes."

"Blaine, how did you arrive in Westerville, Ohio?"

"Lola and Cailean Anderson bought me from Ireland and brought me here."

"Why?"

"So I could do housework for them," Blaine's voice was so small, Pearl saw him physically shrink into himself and had to clench her teeth to keep from screaming obscenities at the defense.

"Where did you sleep when you were with the Andersons?"

"In the garage," Blaine admitted.

Cabot had a television brought in and popped in a videotape. It showed the Anderson garage in its entirety, including the small corner Blaine slept in, complete with a simple cot and worn blanket. "Here?"

"Yes," Blaine whispered.

"What would happen if you couldn't do all the work that the Andersons wanted you to do in one day?"

"They would beat me. Lola would use whatever she could get her hands on and Cailean would just hit me."

"Explain what happened when you went to the Karofskys."

"Lilith saw Cailean beating me and threatened to tell the police if she didn't get free labor too."

"What about the Azimios?"

"Chernobog told Muunokhoi what was going on, and he wanted in on the action."

"What happened on your second visit to the Azimio household?"

Blaine sniffed. "She wanted me to do something else for her," he said.

"Which was?"

"Have sex with her if she would pay my parents double. When they realized they'd get more money if I weren't too tired to have sex, they stopped making me do the housework all the time and hired other people to do it."

"So, what happened when they stopped forcing you to do the housework?"

"They had me meet clients."

"And what did these clients do to you?"

Blaine took a deep, shuddering breath, looking anywhere but Kurt. "Krej Etelpmoc would strip me, burn me with cigarettes, whip me with his belt, and-" the word caught in his throat.

_Say it, Blaine. _Pearl willed him not to let his past control him any longer. Kurt had buried his face so hard in his tissues that he feared his skin would become permanently attached to them.

"He would rape me while I was tied to his bed."

"What about Mary Shonka?"

"She would hold my head down while she poured boiling water on my face," he looked up guiltily at Pearl, but she merely smiled warmly.

"You're so brave, son," she mouthed.

"What would happen when you met with Elohssa Latot?"

Blaine looked down and his shoulders shook. "She would use a stun gun when we had sex."

"Were the Andersons aware of these activities?"

"Didn't you hear me?" Blaine's face was a picture of sudden rage. "I said that they're the ones who brought me there to begin with."

"How many times?" Cabot asked.

The anger disappeared as quickly as it came. Blaine sniffed. "Too many to count."

"No more questions, Your Honor," Cabot said, hoping against hope that Sawyer would forget how to breathe again during his cross-examination.

* * *

><p><em>Yeah, the next chapter will be intense. Sawyer will be a complete ass, and these are based on real experiences in court, guys. I'm not cutting anything out, no matter how tedious or uncomfortable they may be to read, because they are <strong>real<strong>._

_I know this chapter made you emotional. Please vent in a review, even if it's just about how much you hate this story and me._


	11. Missing

_I can't believe it! Not only did my girlfriend of seven years PROPOSE to me the night before yesterday, but I got THREE reviews for the last chapter. I am the luckiest girl in the world! Thank you, stupidamericanidioms91, 256, and klainediva, and a GIANT thank you to Heather Calmia!_

_I said I'd have the verdict ready by now. I don't. Sorry folks, but now I have a future with a wonderful woman to plan. And the person who swears people in is apparently called a bailiff._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the song "Missing" by Evanescence._

* * *

><p><em>"Even though I'm the sacrifice,<br>You won't try for me, not now.  
>Though I'd die to know you love me,<br>I'm all alone.  
>Isn't someone missing me?"<em>

Chapter XI: Missing

Sawyer stood up with an almost terrifying smirk on his face. "The Defense has no questions for the witness at this time, but reserve the right to call upon him at a later date." Okay, a definitely terrifying smirk on his face.

"Granted."

"Your Honor, the People rest."

"The Defense calls Dr. Reid back to the stand."

Reid, looking confused, walked back to the stand. Pearl's phone vibrated and she checked her messages. She had to read the text ten times before the full meaning hit her and she snapped her phone closed.

"Now, Dr. Reid, you had a computer analyst track down how many times the Azimios, Karofskys, Ms. Shonka, Mr. Etelpmoc, and Ms. Latot paid the Anderson, correct?" the defense, Lucky Sawyer, looked so calm, Cabot was worried.

"Yes, I did."

"And what did you find?"

Reid squirmed, "It looks like they've paid more often than the Andersons received, but they could be simply transactions for other, ah, purchases."

"What do you mean, Dr. Reid?"

Reid sighed. "Take Ms. Latot's bank statements-"

"Your Honor, I would like to present Defense Exhibit A, Elohssa Latot's banking statements," Sawyer passed out copies to the jurors. "I've highlighted $400 transactions. Underneath it, you'll find Defense Exhibit B, the Andersons' banking statements, and underneath that, you'll find Defense Exhibit C, Blaine Anderson's bank statements."

The Andersons let out a gasp. They didn't know their son had a bank account.

"You'll note that, every time the Anderson's didn't get $400 that Elohssa paid, Blaine did," Sawyer said. "No more questions for this witness."

Kurt turned to Blaine slowly. "What did you do?"

"The Defense calls Blaine Anderson back to the stand."

Blaine swallowed hard, but stood and walked to the stand with the look of someone who knew he was heading to the gallows.

"So, Mr. Anderson, your parents brought you to this country, fed you, clothed you, and provided you with a place to live."

"Yes," Blaine said, voice barely there.

"Do you think you would have gotten the same things had you stayed in Ireland?" Sawyer asked with the conviction one hand when one knows one will win.

Blaine shook his head. "No."

"All the Andersons wanted in return was some help around the house. Do they have a right to expect this?"

"It's not that simple!" Blaine exclaimed.

"Isn't it? Would your birth mother have kept you as long as the Andersons have?"

Blaine opened his mouth, but sighed and said "No." It sounded like a sob.

"In fact, the Andersons so cared about you that they made sure you always had a sitter to take care of you."

"If by sitter, you mean someone who would hurt me over and over, then sure," Blaine snapped.

Sawyer heaved a long-suffering sigh. "How many times were you at the residence of Elohssa Latot?"

"Thirty-eight."

Pearl's heart stopped pumping in her chest. Blaine was well and truly screwed, and he knew it, tapping his fingernails on the wooden stand, looking straight at her. She could stand it, and so she grabbed Kurt and walked away. Blaine watched them leave, a little bit relieved that finally, they were out of this nightmare, but suddenly completely alone.

* * *

><p>"Why did you take me out of there?" Kurt demanded. "How can anything Blaine say now be worse than what I've already heard?"<p>

"Kurt, we're going to lose," Pearl's voice was devastated.

"NO!" Kurt was pissed, and broke out of Pearl's grip. "How can you say that, when you're the one who fought so hard for this trial to begin with?"

"I did fight for justice, but justice doesn't always fight for us," Pearl said sadly. "Kurt, do you know what is on those bank statements?"

"No," Kurt wiped his eyes, "but whatever they are, it doesn't matter to me. I love Blaine."

"And he loves you, okay? So do I, but I also love him. I will respect his wishes, not because I'm afraid you'll hate him if you find out what I'm about to say about you and him next, but because I'm afraid he'll hate me and you'll hate yourself. So for you own sake, Kurt, stay out here when Cabot calls me back on the stand. And I've seen how responsive this town is to gays; take my phone just in case." With that, Pearl walked back, stride a little funny because she didn't forget to delete her text messages.

"How often were you with Mary Shonka?"

"Thirteen."

"The Karofskys?"

"Five."

"Do you have a bank account?"

Blaine looked miserable. "Yes."

"So, why did these people pay you directly?"

"Because I went to them."

"You went to the people who hurt you?" Sawyer asked.

Blaine heaved the sigh of a man who knew he was utterly defeated. "Yes."

"So the abuse could have come from the times you purposefully sought them out?" Sawyer asked.

"Some of them did," Blaine said.

Sawyer nodded and turned to the audience. "Blaine Anderson claims to hate my clients, but he willfully went back to them time and time again. Clearly, my clients are in the wrong for having paid for sex, but this boy is too for having sold it! No more questions for this witness, Your Honor, and the Defense rests."

Pearl walked back in.

Cabot, who had been frozen in a shocked stance since Sawyer presented the bank statements, suddenly looked relieved. "The People call Pearl Rush back to the stand."

* * *

><p>"Thanks for lending me in your face, Diana."<p>

"I didn't lend it to you. You copied it."

Sue chuckled. "I love crazies. You never lie, unlike Schuester's hair," she shuddered.

* * *

><p>"Why would someone return over and over again to their molester?" Cabot asked.<p>

Pearl sighed. "Someone who has been molested from a young age would grow up believing that it's normal. By the time they're old enough to realize that it wasn't, they're so angry at having suffered a world of pain when they didn't have to that they would ignore the issue altogether. It would eventually come out in other ways, however. For example, Blaine most likely asked Kurt to fulfill his rape fantasy in a failed effort to control the situation. Sexual abuse invariably leads to feelings of self-loathing and self-disgust. The victim fears the perpetrator, but also seeks a reason, and usually ends up blaming him or herself and seeking out self-punishment."

"So sexual abuse can lead to the victim seeking out more of it in the erroneous belief that he or she deserves it?"

Pearl nodded. "Most definitely."

"No more questions for this witness, Your Honor."

"Thank you, Agent Rush. You may step down."

"Your Honor, the People rest."

"Closing statements will begin tomorrow at noon," the judged intoned.

* * *

><p>"I give up," Will sighed to a frustrated Emma. "The kids and I can't decide what to sing to Blaine at school when he gets back."<p>

"What are you guys trying to sing?"

"We want to sing one of Kelly Clarkson's hit singles, but we can't find one that really speaks to us."

"What about looking at a song that might not have been a single? Just because it's not the first song doesn't mean it doesn't deserve attention," Emma wiped her grapes.

Will put his napkin down with a stunned expression on his face. It didn't look any different than his usual expression. "Why didn't I think of that? Emma, you're a genius!" he leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek, but at the last second, Emma turned and he kissed her on the lips instead. Startled, he pulled away and touched his lips. Emma dropped her napkin and did the same.

"Sorry," he said.

"I'm not," Emma smiled. When he left, she ate her grapes unpolished.

* * *

><p>"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you have heard the scientific evidence detailing the horrific abuse Blaine Anderson suffered at the hands of these supposedly fine and upstanding citizens. You have seen many doctors, pediatricians, and neighbors missed the crucial signs. Worst of all, you have witnessed firsthand the devastating consequences of unchecked violence. But today, you have the power to do something to stop it. You don't have to power to go back and remove the pain from this boy's life, but you have the power to make sure it stops now. The defense claims that Blaine sought this out. But why would anyone who wanted to be tied up, electrocuted, whipped, burned, and raped get up on the stand to relive those moments unless he wanted it to stop? Why would someone land on a potato over and over again? Why would someone get up on the stand and tell the world he had been <strong>bought?<strong> Why, ladies and gentlemen? Because he was. But he doesn't have to any longer. Too many victims remain victims because they don't believe there is a better life out there. Send them the message that things can change. Find these defendants guilty."

Sawyer stood up. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you have heard from the lead investigator the scientific evidence detailing the horrific abuse Blaine Anderson suffered from his supposedly beloved boyfriend. You have seen many doctors, pediatricians, and neighbors testify as to the character of my clients. Best of all, you have witnessed firsthand the incredible fact that Blaine Anderson went out and sought the clients who mistreated him. I don't know about you, but that suggests the power of will, and in accordance to the law, the presence of will means the lack of rape. Why would a couple take him out of an impoverished country unless they cared about him? Why would someone go back to people who hurt him over and over again, ladies and gentlemen? The only criminal in this room is Blaine Anderson himself. Tell him that his terrible lifestyle choices cannot be blamed on someone else. Find my clients not guilty."

* * *

><p>"Why the hell didn't you tell me?" Cabot demanded when they reconvened outside to wait for the jury's decision.<p>

"I didn't know. I wasn't sure," Pearl said, gritting her teeth as she regarded Cabot with a look of betrayal. "When were you going to tell me?"

Cabot suddenly found the floor very interesting. "Tell you what?"

"When did you and Aimi start dating?"

Blaine let out a sharp intake of breath. He put his hand on Pearl's shoulder, and she didn't shrug it off.

"I bought her coffee after her testimony yesterday," Cabot admitted finally.

Pearl nodded. "She's a good person, manipulative and assumptive as hell, but determined, like you. You're going to love her."

Cabot nodded. "I already do," she said softly. Her words were drowned out by Kurt's shout. Pearl winced. He had seen the message, and now she and Cabot were caught in the middle of the hurricane he was going to become.

"You set up a scholarship fund for me?" Kurt demanded.

Blaine was caught, and he knew it. Tears sprung to his eyes and he felt like collapsing. This was it; Kurt was going to hate him for being so disgusting.

Kurt was shocked, and he knew Blaine knew it. Tears sprung to his eyes and he felt like collapsing. This was it; he hated himself for making Blaine suffer even more of the torture the Andersons had forced him to go through.

"Boys," Cabot took a step toward them, but Pearl grabbed her arm and tugged her away. "Look, we have a conversation to plow through to. We're just going to be much quieter and much, much more vicious."

"I'm not sure that's a good plan," Cabot said slowly.

Pearl jerked her head toward the screaming brewing outside the small room she had locked Cabot and herself inside. "Would you rather plan stuff to do out there?"

Cabot turned back to Pearl. "So, do you want to curse first or should I?"

"Actually, I need the adoption papers you've got in your hands."

* * *

><p>"You went back to all those people, all that pain, so you could pay half my tuition? What, am I some sort of charity case?"<p>

"No! I loved you, Kurt, even then, and I didn't want to see you get hurt, so I tried to make sure you wouldn't."

Kurt's eyes were pained as he looked down. "All your sacrifices...I always forget you're younger than me," he muttered.

Blaine brushed some of Kurt's hair out of his eyes, hand shaking until he realized Kurt was not going to shrink away from his touch. Then he pulled the boy into a tight hug, something in his chest uncoiling. When Pearl came outside and patted his shoulder, the tears came pouring out.

"I don't care what the verdict is," Blaine said. "As long as I have you two, and those people can't hurt anyone else, I don't care. I don't need revenge."

* * *

><p><em>I'm glad he doesn't care, because I have the verdict at this point, and he's not going to like it. Next chapter, the verdict will be out, Cabot will make her final appearance, Pearl is going to make one more plea for Aimi (I haven't decided what the outcome of that is going to be yet) and the Nude Erections pick a song at last!<em>

_I've been blessed with so much support that it seems selfish to ask anything more of you guys, but I would be eternally grateful if you guys would leave a review, good or bad._


	12. No Good Deed

_Okay, you guys have been so good (and I have been unable to sleep because of my excitement over getting engaged) that I've decided to give you guys two chapters in one day._

_Eeps! -hides under couch- Please don't kill me for the verdict, guys. Don't worry, everyone gets their due. And in case I didn't make it clear earlier, the trial only takes two days and starts the Saturday after the arrests are made. The next day is going to be Monday, and you're going to hear a very amazing song._

_And I know I'm going to get lynched for this, but I started this story with the intention of splitting apart either Blurt or Paimi (pay me, get it?) and I just couldn't split up Blaine and Kurt!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own the song "No Good Deed" from "Wicked," nor the musical itself._

* * *

><p>Chapter XII: No Good Deed<p>

Pearl smiled and held out a packet of paper. "Blaine, I understand that this isn't the time to give you more shocking information, but I don't want you to go back to the Andersons, and you're only sixteen. I'd feel better if I could…watch over you, take care of you, I guess. I know I'm only eight years older than you, but you deserve a childhood, and I intend to provide you with one," she showed him her signature and let Blaine read through the papers.

His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "You want to adopt me?" his voice was incredulous.

Cabot laughed softly as she came up behind Pearl. "She's been planning this since you took her into pre-trial prep."

Blaine smiled at her. Words failed him, but he didn't need any; his eyes said it all.

"You don't have to change your name if you don't want to, but these last two pages are about that, if you want," Pearl flipped the pages.

Kurt giggled. "Blaine Caine…Wes and David will never let you live this down."

"I wouldn't have it changed for very long," Blaine mused. Kurt looked at him in confusion, but now it was Pearl's turn to giggle and reach into her pocket. She kept her old engagement rings in there, simply for nostalgia's sake, but she now knew there was a good place for them.

Cabot's phone buzzed and she looked at it. "Guys, the jury's ready."

"Already?" Pearl frowned. "This is either really really good, or really really bad."

"What do you mean 'already?' It's been more than three hours!" Kurt exclaimed.

"Well, jury deliberations usually take days in cases as complicated as these," Pearl bit her lip with worry and took a deep breath. "And my testimony should have given them a lot to consider." She closed her eyes and sighed. "I have a feeling we're not going to like the verdict."

* * *

><p>"What can we possibly do?" Wes argued. "The trial is already over, and the People never called for us to be character witnesses for Blaine."<p>

"Think about it. What has Blaine always loved more than anything else?" David argued. "He loves music because he could always express his feelings through song."

"Hence why we never did anything but love songs and songs about sex when Kurt was here," Thad added.

"And why he's not here now," Wes frowned.

"Just think about it, Wes. We're all seniors. We're all going to graduate. Why not go out with a bang?" David wheedled.

Wes sighed. "Fine, but only if it's a female power ballad."

David and Thad looked at each other. "Um, why?"

"Remember how much fun Blaine had singing 'Bills, Bills, Bills' and 'Raise Your Glass?' He mentioned that he listened to Pink on a bad day so he'd remember he could overcome anything."

"Those would always be the days he was gone," David reminisced.

"Yeah," Thad paused for a moment. "I wonder why that was."

"Let's vote on songs," Wes said, "but I don't want it to just be hit songs. Remember the 'Candles' duet? Blaine was at his best then."

Thad and David looked at each other, then at Wes. "We have the perfect song!" they exclaimed.

* * *

><p>"On the charges of child abuse one, how does the jury find?"<p>

"We find the Lola and Cailean Anderson guilty."

Kurt looked overjoyed. Blaine and Pearl sighed in relief.

"On the charges of conspiracy, how does the jury find?"

"We find the defendants not guilty."

The five jaws dropped as the defendants heaved a sigh of relief.

"And on the charges of rape in the first degree, how does the jury find?"

"We find the Mary Shonka, Amma Azimio, Muunokhoi Azimio, and Elohssa Latot not guilty. We the jury find Lilith Karofsky, Chernobog Karofsky, and Krej Etelpmoc guilty."

For a few seconds, there was absolute silence. Then the half defendants' side erupted into cheers. Pearl volunteered her arm for Cabot to twist off while everyone else was wrapped up in the verdicts. The judge banged her gavel.

"Lola Anderson, Cailean Anderson, Lilith Karofsky, Chernobog Karofsky, and Krej Etelpmoc, you will arrive back here for sentencing within a week. Everyone else, you're free to go. Case dismissed."

Blaine stood up and moved with Kurt, frozen. He didn't know what to do. He was standing there while the Andersons were carted away, but the others were walking out, much more free than he would ever be. Elohssa Latot's hand brushed his elbow and he jerked away as if he had been burned. In a way, he had.

"That boy sure has a lot of nerve charging the people he willfully saw," a sandy-haired woman he recognized from the jury spoke into her phone as she walked by.

Blaine wanted to scream. He had only done it because he hadn't see any other choice. He had to help Kurt get away from Karofsky, even before he knew what a Karofsky was capable of. Kurt could not be hurt by that asshole anymore. But he couldn't ask for money to pay Kurt's tuition by himself, and he couldn't stand another hand on his boyfriend. Seeing the pale, dejected boy standing next to him, doing his best not to touch him, broke his heart. It was all his fault.

"No," the voice startled him out of his thoughts. "Blaine, Kurt doesn't blame you. None of us do," Pearl leaned forward. "He blames himself. He thinks that if he stood up to Karofsky better and didn't transfer, you would've won," she whispered. Blaine shrugged, a small gesture by someone who knew the world was out to get him and didn't care if it did. She gave a frustrated sigh. "Tell him that if he hadn't transferred because you did this, I wouldn't have found the mattress and you wouldn't have fallen in love with him and gone to McKinley, where this whole crazy mess started."

Blaine refused to meet her eyes, which softened. "Blaine, look at me," she lifted his chin until he did. "Let me in," she whispered. "I want to help you with the pain you'r feeling, but you have to **let** me do that."

He stared at the toe he dragged in the dirt. "I feel like I'm being punished for every good decision I've ever made."

Pearl shocked him for the second time that evening by throwing back her head and screaming "Fiyero!"

Blaine knew what she was doing and sang.

"_One question haunts and hurts, too much, too much to mention:  
><em>_Was I really seeking good, or just seeking attention?  
><em>_Is that all good deeds are when looked at with an ice-cold eye?  
><em>_If that's all good deeds are, maybe that's the reason why  
><em>_No good deed goes unpunished  
>All helpful urges should be circumvented<br>No good deed goes unpunished  
>Sure, I meant well. Well, look at what well-meant did!"<em>

The song finished, and Kurt sat on top of the steps, listening. He was the only one still there, Burt, Carole and Finn deciding not to enter the courtroom again after hearing Aimi's testimony. Pearl waved him down.

"You have a nice voice," he said, still sitting.

"Kurt, please come down," Blaine pleaded.

"Why?" Kurt knew he was being childish, but he didn't care. Everyone was so worried about how Blaine felt, but no one cared about how he was feeling, and he wanted some comfort too. Sure, he was basically asking someone to read his mind, but he was far too proud to ask for help.

"Come here," Pearl said, climbing up to meet him. He stood and she pulled him into a hug. "It'll be okay," she said. "The fact is, they all have criminal records now, and none of them are minors, so even if the charges are dropped, they will never be sealed. Not to mention all the publicity: their social lives are over now. To people like them, that's everything." She made a move to take Blaine back to the hotel room so she could start house-hunting, but Kurt made no sign of letting go and she ended up simply motioning to Blaine to come up to her. He did, taking two steps at a time, and virtually crashed into her, a far cry from the boy who had run from her the first time they had met. She looked at the two boys, wondering how she had gone from single woman to a single mother of not one but two teenage boys, for surely Kurt was part of her family now too, if Blaine was this attached to him.

Thinking of their relationship stirred up a little restlessness in her heart. She saw Aimi's silhouette suddenly, illuminated by the light of the courtroom in the dimming night. As if seeing her intention, the boys let go and Kurt led Blaine to his car so they could wait together. Pearl wasn't sure how long they stood apart, but eventually she made her way up to Aimi.

"Why are you here, Metta? Or is it Maren?" Aimi asked.

"Hotch married my aunt, you know, and I thought about how much they loved each other, and how much I wanted that kind of love." Pearl sniffed. "I thought you'd be over me by the time I was allowed to stop being Maren. I still have the ring I was going to propose to you with, Amanda."

"It's Aimi," Aimi sighed. "It's always been Aimi. Even Alex has to call me that now or I don't respond, did you know? And one year to forget the best year of my life? I'm never going to forget the time we spent together. You were my Blaine."

Pearl nodded, looking at Aimi's clothes. _She's a fashionista like Kurt_, Pearl realized. She wondered what this meant for Kurt CoBlaine in the parking lot.

"You were the first person who ever made me feel really, truly loved. But you aren't the only person. I heard you were in New York, and I went to look for you. I met someone named Donald Flack. Of course, we only went out twice, and then I knew I was lesbian because no straight or bi or pansexual woman could resist that face," Aimi laughed, and Pearl realized this confession was Aimi's way of finally putting the past behind her.

"In the end, though, it was okay. In the end, I fell in love again. And even though he got a new girl, I knew I **could** fall in love again. I **could** pick myself back up." She looked at Pearl. "You taught me that," she said softly. "You taught me hope, because I always wanted to see you again. Now that you're here, though, I have to let go of it."

"Why?" Pearl could feel the perpetual whininess creeping back into her voice. "I didn't forget you. I never have, and I never will."

Aimi smiled sadly. "You already have," she replied. "You say you weren't allowed to contact me. That man you helped move to New York, that was an illegal move, wasn't it? What's his name?"

"Adam Ross," Pearl answered.

Aimi nodded. "I guarantee you, he's still waiting for you, just like I was. Go to him. If you're willing to break the same law that you risk your life to uphold, just to save him, you love him more than he deserves, and certainly more than I deserve."

"Aimi, I can't just uproot my son and chase a dream," Pearl argued softly.

Aimi shook her head. "No, Pearl, you can do things that no other people can do," her eyes were solemn. "I know you. Besides, Kurt Hummel is determined to be on Broadway no matter what. When he chases after his dream and his love, why would Blaine not chase after his love and his dream? The decision will be easy to make."

Pearl looked pained. "I'm going to be here another year, though. You know that we can regain with two years what we've lost in two others."

"Aimi," Alex came out to meet them, holding one cup of coffee in each hand. She paused when she saw Pearl and Aimi standing together. A little bit of the light in her face dimmed, so reminiscent of the look on Blaine's face when Kurt refused to touch him that the decision was, indeed, easy.

"I'm just leaving," she said, smiled and waved, trying to speak above the sound of her own heart shattering. She turned quickly so she wouldn't have to fight against gravity on the corners of her mouth.

"I'm so sorry, dude," Finn said. "It's sick that they can just get away with it."

Blaine shrugged. "I got a family out of it," he said with an expression on his face that clearly suggested he didn't feel he deserved it.

"You know Pearl Rush is an FBI agent who works in Virginia, right?" Burt said, ever the optimist. "She's either going to have to quit her job and move here or you're going to have to move."

"I'm going to keep my job, Mr. Hummel. I will simply stop working in the field," Pearl said from the window, surprising all the car's occupants, none of whom had seen her come up.

Blaine and Kurt looked around, trying to see if Aimi was beside her in the dark. When they didn't see the woman, they turned to Pearl with sad eyes. "I'm sorry," Kurt murmured. He had been planning to ask if Blaine could sleep over at his house, but it was clear that Pearl needed her son more than he did right now.

Blaine got out of the car just in time to see Cabot and Aimi walk away holding hands. "You!" he glared at the nurse.

Pearl grabbed his hands before he could make rude gestures. "She played a part in saving your life too, Blaine," she reminded him. "Please, I'm not mad," she kissed her son on the forehead. "You know," she said speculatively, "I think you look a lot like Daniel Radcliffe. I'm going to draw a lightning bolt scar on your forehead for the Deathly Hallows 2 premier."

Blaine touched his forehead and laughed a little. Pearl looked at the packet of papers in her hand as if she were holding precious gold, and turned to Cabot. "Hey, Alex!" she yelled. Alex turned, alarmed and ready to defend the woman she hoped to make part of her family. "I need you to file these for me!"

Cabot visibly relaxed as she walked over to pick up the papers. She wasn't the only one who wanted a new family.

* * *

><p><em>Yup, they get away with it. But not for long, I promise. Everyone gets their slice of the pie they deserve.<em>

_Next time, we see a few new POVs because I realized that I'm making cardboard stock villains, and that is simply unacceptable. It's hard to remember sometimes, but everyone we know is human. Also, McKinley showcases someone unexpected (I think. I kind of hint at it here, just barely). Pearl makes a stupid mistake, and it turns out she's a lot more responsible for Blaine than she thinks._

_Praise? Criticism? Suggestions? Review and tell me!_


	13. If No One Will Listen

_Thanks to klainediva, stupidamericanidioms91, and 256 for reviewing the last chapter! And thank you for your good wishes! Seriously, I have the best readers in the world! You guys are made of awesome. Here, have a Red Vine and a Darren Criss cardboard cutout that I keep in a cupboard under the stairs (not)!_

_Disclaimer: "If No One Will Listen" is Kelly Clarkson's, not mine. I discovered it purely by accident and everytime I hear it, it makes me cry. Also, I don't want to own Krej Etelpmoc. I assume that Dave Karofsky's friend already has parents, so all I did was flesh them out a little._

* * *

><p>Chapter XIII: If No One Will Listen<p>

_At one point_, Krej reflected_, I was normal_. But then his mother and father had divorced, and his father had thrown himself into his work, neglecting his son to avoid facing the tattered remains of his family. And so when Krej had started taking an interest in sex, he had years of anger to permanently make sure that he could only get off when he hurt someone helpless. And so the children had come in to play. He hadn't hurt them at first, but when he started play-spanking Cailey one day, it soon turned to full-on smacking. Thank goodness her parents were on a week-long business trip. Otherwise, he might not have been able to bribe her into keeping it all a secret.

Blaine Anderson, on the other hand, simply had no one who cared. Krej could do anything to the boy without consequence, just as long as it wouldn't take the boy too long to recover. But now, the boy had fully recovered, and he wasn't coming back. Krej sighed. All his money was now going toward his appeals process. There would be none left to buy anyone else.

"Krej Etelpmoc, I sentence you to twenty-eight years in prison with the possibility of parole after three years."

* * *

><p>"Welcome back, Blaine!" Mr. Schuester patted the boy on the back. "I'm glad to see you back."<p>

"I'm glad to be back, Mr. Schuester," Blaine said honestly.

Mr. Schuester beamed as Blaine and Kurt sat down next to each other. "Now, I'm glad to welcome a special guest. She used to sing, act, and dance in a few Disney movies. Now, she's here to wish us a good rest of the year."

Blaine and Kurt noticed the other students giving them knowing looks, and wondered who the special guest was.

Mr. Schuester nodded to Brad to begin the intro to the song.

Kurt gasped, delighted. "I love this song!" Then Pearl's pure soprano flowed into the room, and he gasped again.

_Maybe no one told you there is strength in your tears,_

_And so you fight to keep from pouring out._

She nodded to Kurt, who stood up and sang the next part.

_But what if you unlock the gate that keeps your secret soul?_

_Do you think that there's enough, you might drown?_

The rest of the New Directions stood up and joined her in the chorus.

_If no one will listen if you decide to speak,_

_If no one is left standing after the bombs explode,_

_If no one wants to look at you for what you really are,_

_I will be here still._

Rachel moved to the front of the crowd.

_No one can tell you where you alone must go._

_There's no telling what you'll find there._

Rachel retreated and Santana took her place.

_And god I know the fear that eats away at your bones,_

_Screaming every step, 'Just stay here.'_

The entire choir, including Mr. Schuester and Emma from the doorway, swallowed Santana protectively in their ranks and sang the chorus again. Then Tina moved to the front of the crowd.

_If you find your fists are raw and red from beating yourself down,_

_If your legs have given out under the weight._

Tina moved back, and Pearl and Kurt walked forward for their duet.

_If you find that you've been settling for a world of grey,_

_So you wouldn't have to face down your own hate._

This time, during the chorus, everyone moved forward until Blaine was completely surrounded by a circle of loving faces. Kurt and Pearl sang the chorus again, Pearl slightly higher-pitched, and both took one of Blaine's hands in theirs. Blaine knew he was crying like an idiot, but he couldn't help it. He hugged his new family to him, and the New Directions flocked him. Sure, maybe most of the people who had hurt him were still out there, but he knew he didn't have to face this alone. That meant more than having all of his tormentors locked up and him alone in the outside world. He joined them in when they repeated the final line.

_I will be here still._

* * *

><p>Lilith cried into her pillow that night, Chernobog hugging her back. Tonight would be their last night together for at least an entire year. They didn't know what would happen in prison, but they doubted it would be anything good.<p>

How did it come to this? Lilith knew she was tired and overworked, so hiring Blaine Anderson to do her housework for her gave her the chance to unwind. But then Muunokhoi had taken extra shifts at work and what was the point of unwinding if she didn't have anyone to show it off to?

"This is all my fault," she cried, into Chernobog's shoulder.

"I'm not," he said. "We had some fun, but we should have known it couldn't last."

Lilith agreed, eyes closing as she lied next to her husband. He was always so wise. They would get through this, somehow. She just wished she could've saved up more money to give to her son.

"Lilith and Chernobog Karofsky, I hereby sentence you to twelve years in prison, each, with the possibility of parole after one year.

* * *

><p>"Well, I hope you like it," Pearl said nervously as she drove her rental car to the house she had bought. "I couldn't find another house ready to move into on such short notice. Really, I should've thought this out better. I'm sorry, Blaine."<p>

"Mother," Blaine almost laughed, "whatever you chose will be fine. As long as we have each other and I can still see Kurt, it'll be okay."

Pearl smiled tightly and continued driving. When they got to the neighborhood, she saw Blaine's smile slip. They were across town from the house the Andersons had bought so long ago, but it was still the same town. "Blaine, we can take a hotel," she said softly, pulling over so she could take his hands.

Blaine thought about how much money Pearl must have spent already and shook his head. "No," he lied, "this is fine."

She bit her lip, knowing he was lying, but also afraid to call him out on it and get him defensive. They moved into the driveway, and Pearl opened the door to get out of the car as Blaine did the same from the other side. She stiffened when she reached the door, ripping off the note taped to the door with superhuman stealth for how fast her movements were. She checked to be sure Blaine hadn't seen it and was relieved how he seemed to be taking in the scenery.

The house sat on almost an acre of land that included a river, from which a balmy breeze was blowing softly across the wide porch. The scent of lavender and thyme seeped gently around the oleander trees and camellias. An old canvas hammock was strung up between the only two live oaks that didn't have Spanish moss creeping up the trunks. Blaine breathed deeply, finding some delight in the ancient wisteria covering the house's trellised walls as he made his way up to the dove-grey door next to his mother. He stepped on a crack on the river-mud brick steps as he did so, and felt an iota of that pleasure leave him. _What does that mean?_

"I asked for a house suitable for raising two teenaged boys in," Pearl said, "since I imagine you're going to be having Kurt over a lot. And please do; I need to get better acquainted with the Hudson-Hummels. You can have your Dalton friends over too, if you would like. I used to be a teenage girl; I know what it's like to host a good slumber party, or ten thousand."

Blaine chuckled.

Pearl moved forward for a hug. "So, what do you want to do for our first night as a family?" she asked.

Blaine looked around. The house had been very well-maintained, but he could see a spiderweb in the corner and suppressed a yawn. "I guess I should clean that up," he pointed to the ceiling. Pearl turned to look.

"Oh, that silly little thing? Who cares? Let's…um, you like Disney, right?" she pulled him toward the television eagerly. "Let's watch something fun!" she squealed. "And not romantic," she added under her breath.

"Can we watch Harry Potter?" Blaine suggested hopefully.

Pearl laughed. It was soft and musical, and Blaine may or may not have let out a little tear when he heard his mother so happy. "You're so obsessed!" she giggled, smacking him on the shoulder playfully.

The happy feeling went away, and his smile fell a bit. "We could watch something else," he muttered, looking at the ground.

"Nope," she said, leading him to the couch. "We're going to watch Harry Potter. Now, I only have the first four, is that okay? We could download the fifth on Netflix," she held out the covers of the DVDs.

"Are you kidding?" Blaine stared at her, openmouthed. "I've always wanted to watch a Blu-ray movie."

"You've never watched a movie on Blu-ray?" Pearl's eyes bugged out as if Blaine had just said he had stabbed Mother Teresa to death. "Well, get yourself comfortable; I'm going to make us some popcorn, and we are going to have a marathon."

"I have school tomorrow," Blaine reminded her.

"You've already done all your homework, and it's only four. Unless you have friends to meet or something else you want to do, you're all mine for the next few hours," Pearl said, rummaging around the cupboards until she remembered she still had to get groceries. She could go out, get it on her own, and let Blaine watch the movie, but she didn't want to leave him alone. She looked at the note she had found taped to her door.

_You ruined our lives; we'll end yours._

"Mother, is something wrong?" Blaine asked. She almost cursed; she had been silent for too long, and she had forgotten that her emotions were unusually strong.

"Um, do you want to come to the store with me? We can pick out a kind of popcorn that you like," she said quickly.

Blaine raised one caterpillar-like, triangular eyebrow, but he didn't comment on her obvious deception. "Um, I don't know any kind of popcorn that I might like," he said.

Pearl's face fell, Blaine squirmed, and she brightened again. "Then we'll just have to get a mixed bag," she beamed, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Blaine thought she looked like an overeager puppy.

"You're too sweet," he said softly. "I feel like, any second, I'll wake up and I'll be in the garage again," his face crumpled.

Pearl's did as well. "Come here, Blaine," she said, holding out her arms for a hug. "Now, I won't treat you like this all the time, but we both need a break today. I want to cry over random stuff while I stuff my face with ice cream. Tomorrow, we can return to a normal schedule, eat healthy food, and talk about things that don't matter. Today, we find out about each other. We already know the worst parts of each other; tonight, we shall find out about the best."

"You already know the best part about my life—Kurt," Blaine began to babble as he and his mother left their house and went to the rental. Pearl pushed thoughts of how she could get a car in one day as she listened to Blaine talk about how wonderfully talented and clever and brave and smart Kurt was. She smiled softly. Two young boys in love…she hoped it would go better for them than it had for her, Aidan, and Aimi. They ended up buying a bag each of kettle corn, caramel popcorn, and toffee-with-peanuts popcorn. Blaine wondered if having a mother was always this fun.

When they got back home, they talked about favorite movies ('Titanic' for Pearl and 'Mulan' for Blaine), favorite places to play (Pearl loved a certain park in Fremont and Blaine liked anywhere with a slide), and favorite foods (Pearl was oddly attached to chocolate-covered bacon and Blaine particularly enjoyed mint chocolate chip ice cream). They talked about favorite colors (Pearl turned pink when she mentioned it was her favorite color, and Blaine decided Hari was a color), fond memories of high school pranks (Pearl had put soap flakes in the pool and Blaine and the rest of the Warblers had danced in the dining hall during lunch to the tune of Pink's "So What" in sequined leotards), and best family trips (neither of them had any). They agreed that both their lives had been pretty incredible (and crappy) but that it was okay because they were together now. He had a family, and he had plenty of time to form more memories.

When they got back, Blaine looked around. "Should I sleep on the small sofa? The big one looks newer."

"They're both new," Pearl began.

Blaine's face fell, but he shrugged it off quickly, "I guess the floor's not too bad."

Pearl laughed a little. "Blaine, there are four bedrooms, one downstairs and one with a half-bathroom upstairs. You can pick any of them."

Blaine looked at her, shocked. "Really?" his voice was small, and Pearl realized that, in that moment, she had the power to hurt Blaine more than any of the people who had just been set free could ever have imagined.

Her heart and throat constricted. "Blaine, you're my son. I'm not going to be the perfect mother—I doubt I'll be adequate—but I will love you more than I could ever love myself or my possessions, because you are not me or my possession."

Blaine stood still for a second, and Pearl held her breath until he wrapped his arms around her neck. "Thank you," he half-sobbed.

* * *

><p><em>Next time, we get to see the Warblers again and their song choice. Then we go back to the angst. I figured that everyone could use a break after the awful stuff that's been going on.<em>

_By the way, I'm going to the Harry Potter premier tonight, and I'm spending Friday and Saturday with Mia. We have a spiritual wedding to plan at her church, and we're honestly considering moving to New York City together after college. -sigh- That's four years away. Oh well, if we can wait seven years, what's four more? But yeah, I'm not going to be updating until Sunday at best._

_While I'm gone, you readers can tell me how much you liked/wanted to marry/dislike my story! (Sorry, I've got wedding stuff on the brain, lol.)_


	14. Fucking Perfect

Hello all! This is mia (Heather Calmia) I go by Mia because I'm named after my mother and it feels weird when people call me by my mother's name and I used to go by Cal until I dated a guy named Cal (long story). Lori has given me complete control of this chapter, even the author's introduction! I want to say thank you so much to stupidamericanidioms91, klainediva, 256, and starkidklainer for your congratulations! I plan to take very good care of our favorite littl author, don't worry! I have never written for publication before, so here goes nothing! I'm crossing my fingers as soon as I'm done typing.

Disclaimer: Lori and I don't own "Fucking Perfect" by Pink.

* * *

><p>Chapter XIV: Fucking Perfect<p>

They spent a long time in that position, until finally, Blaine had to ask. "Mother, why is the kitchen half-rubble?"

"I spent most of the time you were at school redoing the kitchen, since I know how much Kurt and Carole like to cook. I don't know what most of this stuff do, though," Pearl looked awkward as she reached one hand across the stove to fiddle with buttons for the oven and one hand on the top of the oven to fiddle with knobs for the stove. "I'm not a good cook."

A tongue of blue fire jumped up and licked at her arm, catching her sleeve on fire. She screamed, pulled it out, and ran to the sink before she realized she hadn't put it in yet. She settled for a towel, and when she took it off her arms, the skin came off with it, blackened and horribly burned.

"Mother!" Blaine cried, running forward.

Pearl held up her hand. "Blaine, get my cell phone, please," her voice was light and not at all filled with pain. Blaine found it and brought it to her with shaking hands. She texted with her good hand and rubbed her temple before heading upstairs. She was gone for quite a while, and Blaine thought he heard another feminine voice upstairs, but disregarded it when Pearl came downstairs in an unburned blouse, gauzy white peeking out behind the long sleeves.

"I'm sorry," he said, staring at the bandage.

"I'll be good as new. And hey, at least now I know I'm not that bad at cooking. Well, at least not when I'm the entrée," she quipped, patting his shoulder. Blaine gave her a look that shut her up immediately. She pulled her arm back. "Don't worry, okay, honey? I can take care of myself. I just can't take care of food."

"I'll cook," Blaine offered.

"Are you sure?" Pearl asked, furrowing her eyebrows. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable or feel like you have to do stuff or I'll hurt you. I'm not Lola."

"I know," Blaine smiled.

"Well, let's not worry about this right now," Pearl said. "Pick out your room."

Blaine ended up picking a bedroom right next to Pearl's, so she woke up to his screaming halfway through the night.

Pearl ran into his room and turned on the light. Blaine looked up at her and took a ragged, shuddering breath. "I thought Elohssa had kidnapped you," he muttered.

Pearl shuddered too. The way he said it made her feel as if the woman had as well. "Blaine, are you sure, sweetie? I don't want you to feel uncomfortable, and if living here will give you nightmares, I would rather move."

Blaine looked at his mother. "Mother, I'm going to have nightmares no matter what. I don't care where I live as long as I'm with you and Kurt."

* * *

><p>Elohssa Latot wasn't a mean person. She had always known her sexual urges were outside of the norm, and had done her best to suppress them. The law was to be obeyed. Her mother's debutante picture hung in the foyer, right next to the picture where she graduated from the police academy. They were the only two pictures Elohssa managed to keep after her father had remarried some whore. The pictures, and her mother's makeup, were all Elohssa had of her mother. Elohssa took the color-collection eyeshadow to school because the box wouldn't break as easily as the frames of the photos. And one day, they were stolen.<p>

Elohssa was devastated until she saw a certain girl. This girl had platinum blond hair with red undertones and blue-green eyes…eyes that were currently sporting pastel yellow and spring green above it. Oh, Elohssa wanted to believe that this girl simply had the same makeup by coincidence, but when the little tart showed up to school with pink eyeshadow and a perfect chalky pink lipstick that smelled like roses, Elohssa lost it, completely and utterly. Why the hell should she follow the law? No one else seemed to.

"The homeowners association kicked me out of the neighborhood," Mary Shonka said. "Something about my reputation driving down the value of the real estate," she kicked the wall in frustration.

"My son has been kicked out of school," Chernobog snapped. "You could be a **little** sympathetic."

"We need to teach that little shit a lesson," Elohssa said, coming out of her reverie. "I still have my house, and that thief who took our property had the audacity to move two houses down. You guys can all stay here," she gave them a chilling smile. "The more the merrier."

* * *

><p>"Dad, can I go over to Blaine's?" Kurt asked. "We're just going to study, I promise. His mother will be there the whole time."<p>

Burt grunted his approval. The Buckeyes were playing, and judging by the commentator's tense voice, any second now, the reason Kurt couldn't study in his own home would be apparent.

"YEAH! FIVE POINTS!" Kurt could hear Burt pumped his fist in the air.

"DAMMIT!" Puck reached into his wallet and pulled out eight dollars for Finn, who pocketed it eagerly while someone rang the doorbell.

"Do you want me to drive you, dear?" Carole called as she went to answer it. She opened the door and found Pearl standing there with a polite smile on her face.

"I was wondering if Kurt would like to come over. Blaine's been pining. Seriously, I suck at this parenting thing. How the hell do you say no after the sixth slice of pizza?" she looked a little panicked.

Carole laughed. "Come on, I'll ride with you and give you all of my secrets. Then you'll buy me barbecue sauce and ribs because there's a Buckeyes game tonight."

"Deal," Pearl said feverishly, stepping back so Carole and Kurt could see her car. They stopped and stared.

"How can you afford that car?" Kurt asked in a strangled whisper. Both mothers stared at him, Carole from lack of understanding of that information and Pearl from not knowing how he knew the information. "It's a 1994 Toyota Supra Turbo Coupe. My dad fixed one of those last week for a guy who said he shelled out $48,991 for it. You're a police officer."

"I got mine for a thousand less, and I have a lot of law enforcement jobs. Most of them require people calling me and faxing things over all hours of the night, asking for my opinion on crime scenes. I've asked Blaine to never answer the phone or look at faxes after I got thirty-six pictures of skulls found in the back of a Philadelphia house from my adoptive mother." For more than one reason, but no one had to know. She'd better change the subject. "Oh, I still have to tell her she's a grandmother."

"You haven't already?" Carole stared and Pearl averted her eyes.

"Busy with Blaine," she said, leaving out the part where she was busy being ignored by the police when she went to them with the threats, which were getting very graphic at this point. "I don't know how you do it, Carole."

Carole laughed and Kurt walked out, books packed and ready.

"Oh, and by the way, we're going to have to hurry. I don't want to miss out on a single second of blackmail material," Pearl said, gunning the engine. She began to explain the events of fifteen minutes.

* * *

><p>Blaine wondered why his mother had ever been chosen to lead an undercover investigation; the way she checked the clock every thirty seconds was getting on Blaine's nerves, and he was clueless enough miss the fact that Kurt was in love with him for <em>weeks<em>. So when four minutes had passed, he finally snapped his Calculus book closed and called her out on it, sharply. "Why are you staring at the clock?"

Abused children tended to react to uncomfortable situations aggressively, and Pearl was certainly no exception. "I don't see why that's any of your business!" she yelled back. He suddenly looked terrified at her sharp tone, and Pearl made an effort to rein herself in.

"Blaine, I'm sorry. How are your studies?" she asked, voice suspiciously smooth.

"It's not going very well, and it won't as long as you're here looking over my shoulder," he said, looking at her defiantly.

Pearl sighed, paused thoughtfully, and brightened when she saw the time. "I have to go, Blaine," she said cheerfully. Blaine looked after her sadly. Of course, it was too good to last. Pearl was a sweet-tempered, charming, beautiful woman who was probably sick of how much Blaine was destroying her social life. Half of him wanted to beg Pearl to stay, the other half wanted her to leave because he knew he was too much of a burden. That half kept him silent until Pearl was already out of the house. Then the doorbell rang and he opened the door.

Wes, David, and Thad stood outside, the rest of the Warblers standing behind them. They began to harmonize behind Thad, and Blaine's mouth dropped open.

_Made a wrong turn, once or twice.  
><em>_Dug my way out, blood and fire.  
><em>_Bad decisions, that's alright.  
><em>_Welcome to my silly life._

Then Thad and Wes moved so that the latter was now in the middle.

_Mistreated, misplaced, misunderstood  
>Miss 'No way, it's all good'<br>It didn't slow me down.  
>Mistaken, always second guessing.<br>Underestimated, look I'm still around._

Then all the Warblers began to sing the chorus as Thad moved back to the middle

_Pretty, pretty please, don't you ever, ever feel  
>Like you're less than fucking perfect<br>Pretty, pretty please, if you ever, ever feel  
>Like you're nothing, you're fucking perfect to me<em>

David began to sing the next verse, Wes echoing his lines.

_You're so mean (you're so mean) when you talk (when you talk)  
>About yourself. You were wrong.<br>Change the voices (change the voices) in your head (in your head)  
>Make them like you instead.<em>

Thad began to sing again.

_So complicated, look happy, you'll make it!  
>Filled with so much hatred<br>Such a tired game.  
>It's enough, I've done all I could think of<br>Chased down all my demons, I've seen you do the same._

After everyone sang the chorus again, the council fell silent as each Warbler did half of each line of the rap.

_The whole world's scared, so I swallow the fear.  
><em>_The only thing I should be drinking, is an ice-cold beer.  
><em>_So cool in line, and we try, try, try.  
><em>_But we try too hard, it's a waste of my time  
><em>_Done looking for the critics, 'cause they're everywhere.  
><em>_They don't like my jeans, they don't get my hair.  
><em>_We change ourselves, and we do it all the time  
><em>_Why do we do that? Why do I do that?  
><em>_Why do I do that?_

Now the council harmonized with the rest of the Warblers for the final chorus. When it was over, Blaine heard two people clapping, turned, and saw his mother on the front porch holding a video camera, Kurt and Carole jumping up and down.

"That was a great performance, guys," Blaine's mother said. "I can't wait to put this on YouTube."

Wes, David, and Thad looked at each other in horror. They were going to be sabotaged at Regionals!

* * *

><p>"We're going to be sabotaged at Regionals!" Rachel shouted.<p>

The girls at her sleepover rolled their eyes and ignored her. Rachel put her hands on her hips. "Fine, then I guess you don't want to know my ideas for our performance."

"You mean, your ideas for your performance while the rest of us just doo-wop behind you?" Santana said sarcastically.

Rachel huffed. "I was actually thinking that Blaine should have a solo. He's had a very rough year, and if anyone understands how cathartic it can be to sing after a terrible experience, it's me."

The girls looked at each other, ignoring the last sentence but considering hte merit of the first.

"What song should we sing? More Kelly Clarkson?" asked Quinn.

Rachel beamed. "Actually, Quinn, that's not a bad idea." She hummed around the room, walking in circles.

* * *

><p>A few hours of studying (and not studying), Kurt admitted that he and Carole had to be driven home. Pearl didn't want to leave Blaine alone in the house (or stop discussing parenting with Carole since she desperately needed the older woman's guidance), but she also needed the car to drive Blaine to school tomorrow. And if she bought a second car, it would look really strange. So she settled for the fifteen minute drive. After all, what's the worst that could happen in fifteen minutes?<p>

Blaine looked up when the phone rang for the third time. He bit his lip; a nervous habit he had picked up from his mother. The photos of the mass grave had been horrifying, but it looked like whoever was calling was insistent. The number was hidden, of course; the FBI didn't like their calls tracked. He picked up, figuring his mother wouldn't be too angry if he answered it just this once.

"You can't protect that stupid little puss forever," said a horribly familiar voice. "I will sneak into your house and make your son watch me to do you what you made sure we can't do to him. And we won't stop until you're dead."

Blaine sat still, eyes wide. The door closed and he turned to look. Pearl was standing, open-mouthed, at the door, preferring an angry Hotch to Hurricane Blaine.

* * *

><p><span>I have stolen Lori's notebooks, and from what she has writeen of the next chapter, the New Directions and the Warblers go to SEctionals. I understand that this goes against cannon, but Blaine deserves a song, doesn't he? Lori's been telling me she needs a break from the angst, so i helped her write the Warblers' serenade scene. I hope you enjoyed it. She did, and wrote the rest of the chapter around it. Did you?<span>

_Hey, guys, it's Lori again! Mia's going back to work. So, did you like our collaboration? Should we do more of them? Tell us, tell us, tell us, please, in a review! And don't worry; the angst will be returning shortly._


	15. Sober

_I can't thank my reviewers stupidamericanidioms91 and 256 enough for all the unwavering love and support they've given this story. You guys are amazing and this has exceeded all my expectations. Thank you so much! Unfortunately, we'll return to the angst here. And I'm sorry I can't update as often as I'd like to, guys. I'm dancing as fast as I can, but I have a wedding to plan!_

_Also, to the person who sent me a scathing message thinking you were "nice" by not cussing me out in a review...um, screw you. While I don't approve of wanton cursing, I also don't approve of wanton censorship. Mia and I used the ORIGINAL version of Pink's song. I think harsh language is needed for harsh emotions and harsh situations. If any situation is harsh, it's slavery. Now, I'll be nice and not name names. But seriously, get a grip._

_Disclaimer: "Sober" is Kelly Clarkson's, not mine, or Mia's._

* * *

><p>Chapter XV: Sober<p>

"How long?" Blaine was surprised and a little bit pleased at how calm and steady his voice was compared to his jackrabbit heart.

"Since we moved in here two weeks ago," Pearl admitted.

Blaine realized his mouth had fallen open and he closed it with an audible snap that seemed to echo in the room. Certainly, it was loud enough to make Pearl flinch.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Blaine asked evenly.

Pearl looked down as tears filled her eyes. "You've been through enough. I thought, if I couldn't protect you from them before, I could start doing it now."

Blaine looked at her sadly. "It's not your job to shield me from the world. It's your job to make sure I can face it."

Perversely, Pearl found herself laughing. "Blaine, you've already made it clear that you **can** face it. Whether or not you should face it, well, that's a completely different matter and I'm pretty sure I fail at parenting."

Blaine frowned with confusion. "I think you're doing pretty well, actually. I mean, you're only eight years older than me, and you're doing great."

Pearl shook her head. "You're only saying that because, compared to the Andersons, I'm Mother Teresa. And I've killed more people than Kurt has given fashion tips to. I'm pretty sure I suck."

Blaine suddenly laughed as well. "I don't know anyone else's parents who use the words 'fail' and 'suck' as slang."

The atmosphere changed, and Pearl fell melodramatically on the couch with a sigh. "I'm too young to be doing this. At least Carole had twelve years of preparation before she had to raise a teenage boy."

The atmosphere changed back, and Pearl and Blaine looked at each other, regarding each other's Messiah complexes. Blaine's had backed him into a corner, and Pearl's had pulled him out so she could back herself into a different one.

"You really shouldn't keep secrets, you know," Blaine said. "Secrets just make it harder to trust you."

"Oh, Blaine," Pearl's smile was ironic and brittle and not at all sincere. "You really have no idea how many secrets I'm keeping."

Blaine stared after his mother's retreating back with confusion before turning back to his sheet music. He swallowed. It was the first time he was competing against the Warblers. Would they take it as a betrayal? Should he quit the solo the New Directions had bestowed upon him?

"Hey, Blaine, did you see where I put the charger for the video camera? I don't want to miss a single second of your solo tomorrow," his absent-minded mother's voice floated downstairs.

As Blaine grabbed the charger, he grinned widely. There was no way he was giving up his solo. He wanted his mother to be proud of him. The way she had looked at him when she first tasted his vermicelli had made him positively glow with a much needed boost of self-esteem. He had immediately taken advantage of that to ask if Kurt could come over for a sleepover. She agreed to talk to Burt about it, and had gotten the man's consent the next day. Yes, having a mother was definitely better than having Lola. And if doing well at school and in choir would make her smile at him like that again, he would do whatever it took to make her proud.

* * *

><p>Will was glad that Blaine Anderson was in the Glee Club. For once, when Sue walked in, her hair-geldar would turn her in Blaine's direction and away from Will's. Not to mention that now, Emma was in his room more than ever, trying to convince Blaine to not bottle everything up. While Will was pretty sure Blaine's mother was a much better therapist—she <strong>was<strong> a profiler, after all—he wasn't going to complain if those big eyes were in his room more often.

"Blaine Anderson, can I speak with you?" she asked.

Blaine resignedly walked out with her, but for once, Will found out that he actually had one and followed them. He and Emma were going to talk if it was the last thing he did with her.

"Emma!" he called. She and Blaine turned, the dapper and ever-polite student slinking away, knowing he wasn't needed.

Emma called after him, but she didn't move to follow, because Will was here and she'd rather talk to him, as self-destructive as that was, than talk to Blaine…which was also self-destructive. Sometimes, a girl just couldn't win. She sighed and turned to Will. "What do you want?"

"I think we need to have an actual conversation," Will said.

"About what?" Emma asked primly.

"About this," he gestured between the two of them, "and how we feel about each other. Because the way we act around each other, Emma, it's not friendly."

Emma bit her lip, turned, and walked away as if each step physically pained her. Will watched, heart breaking a little more every time her feet touched the ground, until she stopped and ran back to hug him. Actually, it was more of a flying tackle.

"I don't know what to say, so can we not say anything? Can we just do this and not question it?" she asked nervously. "It feels like, every time I fall in love, I try to analyze it and make it safe, but it's not safe. And I need to stop it."

Will was impressed. "Wow," he said softly. "Have you ever been this open with Blaine? I'm sure he would reciprocate."

Emma was a little confused as to how the conversation had turned to the boy, but then realized that Will was thinking about Blaine in terms of a son, a son he could have with Emma. She turned to where Blaine was more or less successfully hiding between rows of lockers.

"Maybe, one day, we can even talk about it," she said, smiling.

* * *

><p>Back inside the choir room, Mike fidgeted. Tina and Artie were talking, again, to the utter exclusion of himself. It seemed that, whenever they started talking, they became completely wrapped up in each other.<p>

"Are you two done?" he asked irritably.

Tina's hurt look was quickly covered by an irritated one, but when she yelled at Mike about how disrespectful he was to her if she couldn't even talk to her friends. And Mike realized he and Tina might as well be on different planets. They didn't understand each other. Without a word, he left.

Tina shrugged. She went back to talking to Artie, but something in their conversation changed. It became more…intimate, and without Mike there, Tina felt like she was no longer being stifled. Actually, come to think of it, she never felt stifled around Artie.

* * *

><p>"I'm not so sure about performing this song," David said. "We sound good in it."<p>

"That's the point, David," Wes said patiently. "I've recently come to the conclusion that we sound best when we're focused on the emotion just as much as we are in the choreography and the background harmony."

"But Blaine's our friend," David said. "He was practically the glue that held our group together. He was important to all of us. What are you going to do now?"

Wes looked David in the face. "We do what we've always done; namely, we sing. We've already proven that we can sing very well without Blaine."

"So, throw 'Fucking Perfect' in his face by making it our competition piece."

"We invested our heart and soul into it. We don't just sound good, we sound incredible in it. And I for one think we should stay that way," Thad snarked.

Wes was considerably more understanding. "David, the fact is that Blaine is not one of anymore. He used to be. Should we put our lives on hold because he decided to move on with his?"

David shook his head. Sometimes, his friends were way too wise for him.

* * *

><p>Rachel looked around, glad that everyone seemed to be chatting. They didn't look like they were about to pay any attention to the Warblers. And even though Blaine's happiness meant Kurt's happiness, she didn't want Blaine to be happy if he still felt some allegiance to the competition and Kurt would be try for solos more energetically. But then the tall Africa-American boy Blaine used to always be around began to sing loudly, and it seemed as though the entire audience completely stilled, except for Blaine and his mother, Ruby or something. He was asking her to record this, and Opal was fiddling with her camera.<p>

Rachel sniffed and slapped away Finn's hand. She wanted to channel all of her passion into her song later. Finn looked at her with nearly irresistible dark eyes that she simply found annoying, so she looked away. Quinn smiled and took Finn's hand into hers. Rachel suddenly felt deprived when Finn turned away. Just because she didn't want to give passion didn't mean she didn't want love.

"Guys, it's our turn," Puck hissed, taking Rachel's hand before she realized his had moved. He led her to the stage, and for some reason, she didn't feel affronted. The fact that Puck had taken charge was…actually kind of sexy.

"Let's sing," she smiled.

Behind her, Santana was hopelessly flirting with Blaine, and Brittany was making nonsensical noises of protest.

All in a day's Glee.

* * *

><p><em>My son has an absolutely amazing voice<em>, Pearl decided as she filmed. _Not to mention his incredible stage presence and ability to command an audience._

Blaine certainly looked like he was in his element, singing as if nothing could ever get him down. The song was a very good choice, if a little too delicate for Blaine's usual cheer and energy. Regardless, he began a capella.

_And I don't know. This could break my heart or save me.  
>Nothing's real, until you let go completely.<br>So here I go with all my thoughts I've been saving.  
>So here I go with all my fears weighing on me.<em>

Then New Directions turned around and harmonized the chorus with him.

_Three months and I'm still sober.  
><em>_Picked all my weeds but left the flowers.  
><em>_But I know it's never really over._

Now Blaine stood in front of the crowd again, with the rest of the choir singing the instrumental part.

_And I don't know. I could crash and burn but maybe  
>At the end of this road I might catch a glimpse of me.<br>So I won't worry about my timing, I want to get it right.  
>No comparing, second guessing, no not this time.<em>

The choir began to sing the chorus again.

_Three months and I'm still breathing  
>Been a long road since those hands I left my tears in,<br>__But I know, it's never really over, no. Wake up!_

The choir belted out _Wake up_ behind Blaine's solo.

_Three months and I'm still standing here.  
>Three months and I'm getting better yeah.<br>Three months and I still am._

Blaine took a deep breath, as if preparing for pain, and began to belt as the rest of New Directions started to vocalize the instrumental part behind him.

_Three months and it's still harder now.  
>Three months I've been living here without you now.<br>Three months yeah, three months._

The audience, and Pearl, began to sing the next part with Blaine, who sang even more loudly, more passionately, if such a thing were possible.

_Three months and I'm still breathing.  
>Three months and I still remember it.<br>Three months and I wake up._

Everyone stopped singing, and the silence filled the audience members' hearts to bursting before Blaine finished the song a capella.

_Three months and I'm still sober.  
>Picked all my weeds but kept the flowers.<em>

Needless to say, the audience went wild with their standing ovation.

* * *

><p>Blaine and the Warblers were talking about each other's performances when Kurt walked out to join them.<p>

"I hope you guys win," Blaine said sincerely. "I mean, I hope we win too, but I hope you guys win. Gosh, I wish we could just tie!"

Serendipitously enough, that's what they did. However, when the scores were announced and Blaine and Kurt held the trophy up, the audience was too lost to notice the tire iron that came down on a video recorder in their midst.

* * *

><p>Pearl's camera crashed to the floor, the sound lost in the middle of the hubbub. Muunokoi and Amma helped each other drag the dazed and confused woman out and into the back of Mary Shonka's car. It was a very short drive to Elohssa's house, a shorter walk down into the almost bare room even with the dead weight that Pearl's body had become, and only a matter of seconds before the bucket of water to the face roused her.<p>

Pearl blinked and found herself staring at the blinking red light on top of a webcam. "Wasgoinon?" she muttered, head still swimming.

Lola grinned and pulled out Elohssa's stun gun. "I forgot what you did to this in court," she said with barely masked anger. "But I'm sure what I did to it will work just as well." Unaware of Pearl's CIPA, she lifted the young mother's shirt, pressed the stun gun against her flesh, and turned it on. She left it there until smoke started to come off the young woman's skin.

* * *

><p>Back at the performance hall, Blaine was going to try his mother's cell one more time when his phone buzzed, signaling a new text message. It was a video, and when he opened it to watch, his mouth fell open in horror.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Yup, we'll be jumping straight back into the angst after this. Blaine will be stupid, Kurt will be proactive, and Hotch and Reid will be called back.<em>

_Yes, I know that hitting someone hard enough to knock them out is likely to leave permanent brain damage. This is why I didn't make Pearl unconscious, merely too dizzy to struggle. __One last thing: I am going to change Madigan Azimio's name. You'll see why soon. Now, I have to go plan a couple of floral arrangements._


	16. Into the Ocean

__Sorry to the people who were told this chapter was uploaded twice. I had to fix some continuity errors. Amma means "leader," and she's the person who ends up unraveling Elohssa's plans.__

__I'm not completely satisfied with this chapter. if this were to really happen, this is how it would happen, but I aim for realism with everything I write, even my fantasy, and there's no way that Mary, Elohssa, the Azimios, and the Andersons would really do this unless they were all deluded, so I made them all deluded.__

__Remember when I promised no new OCs? I lied. And Varda will come back. Other than House and Aimi, I can't think of any competent doctors you guys might know.__

__Disclaimer: I don't own the song about suicide, "Into the Ocean," by Blue October.__

* * *

><p><em>"Into the ocean, end it all."<em>

Chapter XVI: Into the Ocean

Pearl knew it was odd to thank the woman who had just shocked her, but when it cleared the cobwebs out of her head and didn't hurt, really, who was to say anything against her? Pearl giggled, which caused just about everyone in the room to shiver involuntarily. "Starla," Pearl said, not caring if they heard her. What would they tell the police? "Hello, officer. We were torturing a woman to try to coerce her son into meeting us so we could torture him too when the woman up and disappeared on us?" Yeah, that'll work. Pearl lied down next to the phone. Now, if only she could get out of these ropes. She began to struggle, ignoring the chafing.

* * *

><p>Kurt tried to suppress a sigh of frustration when Blaine refused to answer his fifty-sixth text. Not that anyone was counting.<p>

_Where are you? Rachel's freaking out that you didn't show up to practice. We're supposed to pick Regionals songs today!_

He stood there for a few seconds, watching everyone leave last period like bats out of hell. Then he realized that he hadn't seen Pearl drop off or pick up Blaine in the (thankfully repainted) parking lot today. Nor had he seen the boy himself. Where were the Rushes? Kurt's eyes widened as he realized who else was missing, and he tore down the halls until he found his ride home.

"Finn!" he panted. "I need you guys to help me find Blaine. I think Karofsky and Azimio have him!"

As it turns out, he was half right, although he didn't know which Azimio he was talking about.

* * *

><p>Blaine hadn't even reached Elohssa's house when he heard the yells from inside. None of them were Pearl, but he knew those voices, and they weren't good. Nothing they represented, nothing they meant were good, and nothing they could be doing to his mother could be good either. He knocked.<p>

Muunokhoi and Mary answered. They looked at him for a good long while before bursting into laughter.

"You came," Muunokhoi was beside himself with mirth. "I thought you were going to run away! Damn," he pulled out eight dollars and gave it to Mary, who pocketed it eagerly and retreated downstairs. "You bitch, you're pretty damn good at this."

Blaine couldn't take it anymore and punched Muunokhoi directly in the face. "Where's my mother!" he yelled. The commotion drew the Andersons upstairs.

Cailean looked at him with an almost feral smile. "Come down here and see. But know that you're coming down here completely of your own free will."

Suddenly, Blaine had an idea. He took a step back. "No," he said. "You have nothing against her and you guys aren't used to her. But you guys are used to me. You broke me in. She will never stop fighting. But I don't fight. I will never fight. I'm easier."

Muunokhoi laughed. "We're not letting her go. She's the one who got us into this mess. Did you know my son's been expelled? And it's all her fault, that bitch!"

"It's your fault for having done this to me in the first place!" Blaine yelled back. "I'm not worthless. Neither is Pearl. And if she's willing to treat me the way that you two never were, then she must have seen **something** in me."

"She saw how **pitiful** you are," Lola sneered. "You're not good at all."

Blaine didn't want to believe her, but he couldn't help it when that little phrase got stuck in his brain and found itself amongst the rest of the self-loathing thoughts it housed. He lowered his head, refusing to look any of them in the eye. "If that's true, that she won't mind giving me up."

Cailean and Lola looked at each other with a shrug before a terrible thought entered Blaine's head and he looked at Cailean and Muunokhoi. "You didn't-" he couldn't finish the sentence, or he would throw up.

Lola's mouth fell open. "He would never," she said haughtily. "Amma and I would never allow that."

"Oh, that you bitches won't allow," Blaine spat, earning himself a hard slap across the face. He fell face first into the grass and realized that he had not heard a single scream from inside the house. His mother was not in there. Suddenly, Blaine got to his feet and ran. Lola and Cailean ran after him. If he could just make it to the curb, he was free! But he never did, and they dragged him back. He struggled, and it took all three of them to restrain him. In their haste, they forgot to lock the front door.

* * *

><p>Kurt banged his fist on Blaine's door as hard as he could. "Are you there?" he yelled, near tears. When he heard a muffled thump, he pressed his ear closer to the door and confirmed that there was, indeed, someone inside. "Blaine?" he yelled.<p>

"Pearl," he heard the tinkling, babyish soprano from inside and held up his hand for Finn to wait. "Finn's going to break down the door, okay?"

"Sure," her voice was too musical too be sharp, but that was clearly what she intended it to be.

Kurt nodded at Finn, and they both charged at the door. It didn't stand a chance, splintering on impact. Cracked pieces flew everywhere, and it took about a full minute for the dust and debris of the ruined door to settle down. Around them, alarms rang and Pearl looked at them, flesh clearly burned. Her wrists and ankles were tied together behind her, and she looked unusually pale. Kurt touched one of the double-burns and wondered why her skin was so oddly cool and hard to the touch.

Finn swore under his breath and started to untie Pearl, standing as far away as he could. Kurt stood back, looking and feeling a little sick and dizzy. The alarms weren't helping. As soon as she was free, Pearl ran to the pad on the wall and disabled the alarms. "Where's my son?" she asked as she entered the code. "Is he with you?"

Kurt shook his head, worry only compounding his anxiety.

Pearl cursed, not as quietly as Finn, and turned to both of them. She heaved a shuddering sigh and pointed a shaking hand to her phone. "Call Aaron Hotchner, Noella Caine, and Spencer Reid of the FBI. Tell them that Hotch and Reid need to get in touch with the police here. You remember what they look like, right?" Pearl asked.

Kurt nodded, anxious to find Blaine.

"I'm going to Elohssa's house. Do NOT follow me," she said emphatically. "Here's a list of their numbers. Their personal cell numbers won't work unless their phones are being called from this phone in house."

As soon as she ran out, Kurt realized he was stuck. He couldn't trust Finn with all that information; he didn't know what Reid or Hotch looked like. But he couldn't just let Pearl run off on her own either. Kurt called the FBI agents he barely knew and hoped against hope that someone besides Pearl knew where Elohssa Latot lived.

* * *

><p>Finn's number flashed on her screen again, and Santana was sorely tempted to just ignore him. However, if his interruptions were going to keep her from macking on Brittany's lips, she was just going to have to de-ball him now and face the consequences later. She pushed Brittany off of her and took out her cell.<p>

"Hey, Santana, you work around Blaine's old neighborhood, right? You told me that when we had sex."

Santana groaned. "This is so not the time to bring that up, Hudson."

"Um, yeah, but do you know where—what's her name?—Asshole's house is?"

Santana blinked for a second. "Oh, you mean Elohssa? Yeah, I've heard the name." A slow, conniving smile spread across her face. "The intel's gonna cost you, though," she said casually.

* * *

><p>Pearl was surprised to see the door open when she walked up to Elohssa's front steps. She heard a terrible, strangled scream and felt like vomiting. Where the hell was her son? "Blaine?" she yelled.<p>

* * *

><p>In Elohssa's bedroom on the other side of the house, Blaine heard his mother call out his name and realized she was there. And he wasn't the only one.<p>

"Did you hear that?" Mary asked. "I think I heard his mother."

"M-other?" Blaine's ears perked up and he looked around hopefully. Then he came to his senses and realized that he absolutely could not draw his mother's attention to him. She would come down and these terrible people would get to her. So he sighed and let his head drop.

"Aww, poor kid thinks she's going to save him," Cailean spat in Blaine's face.

Lola's eyes were crazed. If she couldn't have her son back, neither could the dumb bitch who ruined her life. She itched to have the woman and the stun gun in her hands so she could burn her. No, not her, it.

"I'm going to look for her," Lola said, snatching one of the stun guns Elohssa had made. Elohssa stood to join her.

"And miss all the fun down here?" Blaine asked tauntingly.

"We'll have plenty of fun up there," Lola said, zapping her gun. Blaine flinched, and Cailean snorted.

But then, of all people, Amma stood up for Blaine. She knew that, if her son were in the state Blaine was in, she would be doing anything she could to save him. If Pearl wasn't willing to be down here, then at least Blaine should be spared having to watch her suffer too.

"If the dumb slut were in the building, she'd be down here by now," Amma said.

Blaine didn't know whether to feel relieved or afraid. Lola and Elohssa, deprived of one victim, looked to him as their replacement. He swallowed as they got closer, vowing that, no matter what they did to him, he would not scream and call attention to his location. Pearl had suffered enough with and without him.

* * *

><p>At the moment, the reason Pearl wasn't downstairs had nothing to do with Blaine and had everything to do with the countertenor standing in the front steps.<p>

"Why aren't you looking for him?" Kurt asked, clearly upset.

"I don't know where they're keeping him," Pearl looked around, exceptionally close to a break down. "At least they aren't hurting him now. If he were screaming, I'd find him like that," she snapped her fingers. "So I guess it's a good thing I can't find him. Did you call Reid and Hotch?"

Kurt nodded. "They said they were on their way."

Pearl nodded. "They'll bring an infared camera. Did you tell anyone outside where you are?" she asked.

Kurt snickered. "Finn found this place, actually."

"What the hell could he be doing, if he's not here helping us?" Pearl growled.

Kurt blushed. "Santana."

Pearl nodded, but she kept her eyes exceptionally serious. When Kurt didn't grow uncomfortable under her scrutiny, she smiled. "Do you want to go look around?" she asked.

Kurt nodded. "Sure. Do you want to go upstairs and I'll take the ground floors and the basement?"

Pearl shook her head. "There's no way smart UNSUBs would limit themselves like that. And if these people were able to get away with what they did to Blaine for so long, they're not stupid. They'll definitely stay on the ground floor. The basement and the rooms upstairs would leave only one exit. There's no doubt in my mind; the group profile points to them being on the ground floor."

Kurt looked around. "This is a giant house," he said.

"And of bad taste, to show off how well she's done," Pearl's voice was sad. "She has something to prove to someone. She never did, so she takes it out on other people."

Kurt looked at her oddly. "Who are you talking about?"

"Elohssa," she said, looking around. "But it's not just her," she looked at the shoes in the corner. "Elohssa took hers off, but the others didn't, so she's not the leader. In circles like these, there's always a leader."

"So who is it?" Kurt asked.

Pearl shook her head. "I'm not sure, but this is Elohssa's house, and I know the Azimios and Mary Shonka came around here. So where the hell would they have taken me?" she growled.

"Why don't we just yell?" Kurt asked. "We could make them come to us."

Pearl rejected that idea immediately. "Only some of them would come. The rest would stay behind and start torturing Blaine. They might even put us in separate rooms, and that'll make them stretch the SWAT team thinner. Besides, announcing our presence right now would lose us the element of surprise. When it's two, maybe three against five, we need every advantage we can get before Reid and Hotch show up."

Kurt nodded in understanding. "So, what do you think we should do?"

Pearl closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "The room they had me in, it felt kind of like the room Goerhing had me in. There was carpet on the floor, a couple dents in the carpet, and a window next to the camera." She whimpered a little, remembering no pain, but plenty of fear. "It smelled sweaty and bloody. No, no it didn't. It smelled bloody, but there was something like citrus in the air." She almost gagged at the too-sweet smell. "It was awful, and it wasn't oranges, definitely, unless they'd been…bleached." Her eyes snapped open with understanding. "Like Goerhing, Elohssa would like the smell of blood. She'd use cleaning products that fade quickly. The dents are from a bed and dresser filled with devices. Oh, Goddess, Kurt, I know where Blaine's is!"

Having grown up amongst the wealthy, privileged, and esteemed in society, Pearl had quickly learned the monotony of high living. All mansions, no matter how opulent, were built with the same basic blueprint, with the bedrooms always in the back to hide impolite behavior from prying passers-by.

They tore down the hallways, Pearl taking Kurt's right hand in hers in a way reminiscent of when Blaine had taken Kurt to the Warbler's common room so long ago. And yet, it wasn't like that at all. Because that time, Kurt knew he was running toward the beginning of a new life. Now, he felt like he was running to his death.

* * *

><p><em>I'm going to warn you guys; the next chapter gets violent, graphically and disturbingly violent. Think of everything I've done to Blaine in this story. That's nothing compared to what's going to happen next time. I already have it written, I'm just editing it. I think there's only going to be two, maybe three chapters after this. Of course, this coming from the girl who thought this story would be ten chapters long.<em>

_Next time, it's Amma and Elohssa against Pearl, Kurt, and Blaine. Kurt spends half of it unconscious, Pearl gets beaten within an inch of her life, and Blaine...you won't believe what I'm going to do to him. Everyone else gets arrested by Hotch and Reid about halfway through. And Blaine will kill someone. I haven't decided who yet._

_Reviews get the FBI to Lima faster!_


	17. Stable Song

_I can't believe I forgot to mention that Heather Calmia wrote the entire last chapter until Pearl started profiling. Yeah, she's good. All I did was edit._

_This time, she wrote all the parts with the BAU, and I wrote all the parts that are going to give you nightmares and make you sick. Seriously, guys, if you want to skip the second half of the chapter, just know that Hotch and Reid arrive with some police, Blaine gets badly hurt, Pearl gets badly injured (but she has CIPA so it practically doesn't matter except for the fact that she ends up not being strong enough to use some of her more unusual abilities), and Kurt gets knocked out. For some reason, I'm really protective of him. I guess it's because he's so adorable, and I just can't stand the thought of him suffering any more. Oh, and Blaine kills someone, but don't worry, you don't like her._

_Aaron Hotchner says in "Criminal Minds" episode, "Psychodrama," hostages are easier to control if they're undressed, so keep that in mind. I also got the idea of using Kurt as bait to try to make Blaine shoot his mother from that same episode. I'm going to cut off this out-of-control ramble of an author's note after one last _**GIANT WARNING FOR PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN THIS CHAPTER!**

_Disclaimer: I don't own "Stable Song" by Death Cab for Cutie. I do own Callia and Varda, who is making a return because the only other doctors you guys might know are House and Aimi, and I just don't want to deal with that drama right now._

* * *

><p><em>"Suffered a swift defeat, I'll endure countless repeats.<em>  
><em>The gift of memory is an awful curse.<br>__With age it just gets much worse, but I won't mind._  
><em>I won't mind."<em>

Chapter XVII: Stable Song

_One hour ago:_

Spencer Reid was a lot of things, but one thing he was not was a father. At least, he wasn't yet. Not that he wasn't trying, or that it wasn't fun to try. A smile brushed across his lips, but didn't have the chance to grow before his phone rang. He checked the caller ID. "Pearl, where are you?"

"It's Kurt Hummel; I'm in Pearl's house. She was kidnapped by those terrible people who hurt Blaine," the boy sounded close to tears.

"Wait, where is she?" Reid wasn't going to lie that he cared more about his friend than he did a boy he met for all of one day.

"She's going back to their house. She got out, but she's going back," another boy said in the background.

"Okay, do you know whose house she's going to?" asked Reid.

"She said something about an asshole," the boy in the background butted in. Pun completely intended.

Reid sighed. "Alright, Hotch and I will be stopping by within three hours. Don't follow her," he said, hanging up. Once Hotch realized his niece was in trouble, hell and high water could not keep him out of Lima. He walked into the bullpen and tapped Hotch on the shoulder.

* * *

><p><em>Present time:<em>

Pearl listened closely. Mary was apparently tending to someone's broken nose. No one was talking about hearing people outside, so she took Kurt's wrist in one hand her fully loaded gun in the other. She pressed the gun in his hand before he realized what was going on.

Kurt looked up at her, shaking his head desperately. "Can't shoot," he whispered.

Pearl closed his fingers over the handle. "Just keep your arms straight and expect a lot of kick," she whispered back. Kurt was shaking, but they entered the room anyway.

Both were promptly shoved to the ground. Cailean wrestled the gun out of Kurt's hands, throwing a kick to the back of the boy's head for good measure.

"Kurt!" Blaine's cry was weak and punctured by the buzz of the stun gun. He bit his lip, turned away, and shuddered violently.

* * *

><p>Hotch was on the phone with the Lima Police Department in five seconds flat. "I need you to send your best patrols to Elohssa Latot's residence."<p>

"Why? Haven't you feebs interfered with her life enough? Besides, what business does the FBI have with her now?"

"She's kidnapped Blaine Anderson-"

The chief chortled.

"She's also responsible for assaulting and harassing his mother, one of us, and believe me, I **will** arrest you for obstruction of justice and accessory if you don't help us get to where we need to go."

The chief sighed like he was put upon. "I'll send out a patrol car. You guys can send in your folks too, but don't get me involved in it."

"That's not enough!" Hotch wanted to growl.

"I'll alert the hospitals and have them send out an ambulance. We'll be there in a flash," Varda said seriously.

Callia sighed and stood. "We better get to Lima and rescue that little fuck-up."

Hotch and Reid gave each other looks. Pearl's aunt had been harshly critical of her since they had met. But they boarded the jet without any problems, and the flight to Lima took only two hours since TSA didn't bother with them. Just as they were about to land, Reid took out his phone. Kurt had sent him a tex.

* * *

><p>Elohssa made sure that, no one struggled while Muunokhoi and Amma undressed the two new arrivals. Amma was much gentler with Kurt than Muunokhoi was with Pearl. Blaine ignored the gun Elohssa held to his head when he saw the man begin to fondle his mother's breasts.<p>

"Leave her alone, please," he begged.

Amma glared at Muunokhoi, who immediately dropped Pearl. The minute his wife turned her back, however, he gave the twenty-four-year-old a vicious kick. Something cracked, and Pearl curled up protectively. Blaine's eyes were pained, so she smiled reassuringly.

"I'm okay," she mouthed. But she shot Kurt a worried look.

When Kurt opened his eyes, he saw Blaine looking at him, pain, despair, and now relief etched deeply into his face. "You're awake," he sighed.

Kurt felt his head and winced. It hurt. The raw edges of his injury were no longer bleeding, but it was still open and he felt around for how bad it was.

Behind him, Pearl sighed. "I should have told you to stay in the car," she hissed. She looked perfectly alert, like a cat coiled to spring.

"I couldn't let you get hurt to," Kurt realized they were all completely naked and involuntarily curled into fetal position.

"It makes you more vulnerable," Pearl said, seeing that he was preoccupied. "UNSUBs understand that you're less likely to run when you're unclothed."

Kurt looked at the numerous double-burns all over his boyfriend and his mother. "Looks like it hurts," he winced.

"Pfft," Pearl rolled her eyes. "Five months, remember?" she tried to make Kurt feet slightly better. Her arms were tied in front of her and one of her hands was rubbing Blaine's shoulder in a motherly fashion.

Suddenly, the Andersons grabbed Kurt and forced him to sit up. Elohssa raised her stun gun and moved to deliver the same fate she had on Blaine and Pearl, both of whom immediately sat up.

"Stop!" Blaine yelled, tears shining in his eyes. "Please, Elohssa, if you let him go, I promise, you can do whatever you want to me."

Cailean didn't even acknowledge Blaine's words, preferring to put the countertenor in a chokehold. Kurt's vision started to bounce.

"Please, the boys didn't do anything. Kurt's not even supposed to be here," Pearl's voice was quiet.

"But he is," still, something possessed Cailean to drop Kurt. The boy struggled for breath, and for some reason, when Pearl fixed her stare over to him, the world seemed bluer and he could breathe more easily.

Blaine groaned. The act of sitting up caused his body to hurt like hell, but it wasn't going to kill him.

"You couldn't keep your stinking mouth shut?" Cailean shouted, punching Blaine just above his ear. The pain was so sudden and intense that he almost lost focus. But he gulped in oxygen to clear his vision and saw Kurt shaking, but alive and well, Pearl shielding him from a very predatory-looking Muunokhoi, so he was somewhat safe.

Elohssa took out her stun gun and moved toward Pearl and Kurt. She grabbed Kurt's bound ankles, and Pearl staggered to her feet to stop her.

"The FBI is on its way, Elohssa, and there's no way you're going to be able to explain this away," she nodded to the scene before her. Elohssa pushed the woman away. There was a loud thump as Pearl's head connected with the wall, then another when her head hit the floor. The warm gush of blood from where her head met the tire iron began afresh. Her attempts to stop Elohssa grew weak and sluggish, and the older woman continued to drag Kurt toward her.

"NO!" Blaine staggered to his feet as well. Blocking out the hot, burning pain in his body, he nodded at Elohssa. "I won't fight you. I won't even scream. He will. I won't attract attention, I promise."

"I'll scream if you even touch him," Kurt spat, not knowing Lola was behind him until the duct tape was in his mouth. He struggled and was hit across the head with the tire iron and he went limp as well.

"No, Kurt!" Blaine yelled. Pearl nudged Kurt, but Kurt was too disoriented to do more than give Blaine a miserable look. Lola raised the tire iron again and Blaine crawled forward to take the blow instead. He ignored the sickening crack upon impact and the pain that told him that at least one rib had been broken.

Suddenly, his mother was being dragged away from him, and he could see Elohssa positioning the young woman so Lola could jam the tire iron…no, he wasn't going to see that. He had to prevent it.

"Stop," he pleaded. "Please, she's suffered enough. Please, please, please don't do this to her," he begged, on his knees.

"This woman brought you to the hospital to do all those horribly invasive exams on you," Lola said manipulatively. "She broke all your bones again. And she took you away from everything you've ever known! Blaine, **we** own you, not her."

Perhaps it was the way she said it, but Blaine realized he did not belong to anyone any longer, and charged forward, knocking Pearl out of the grip of both women. Lola shrieked, rousing Pearl back into consciousness. Blaine blocked out the pain as he landed on the huge, ugly bruise on his abdomen. Lola looked at the tire iron in her hand pressed it into him, tearing his flesh again. The pain was staggering, but Blaine bore it with a stoic silence, afraid that he would rouse his mother and Kurt into attempting more idiotic heroics. Not that either of them would really be able to do anything; Pearl was too busy being beaten by the two men in the room to help him much. Blaine opened his mouth to protest when Elohssa pressed the stun gun to the iron and turned it on.

Blaine began shuddering violently. He knew it would pass, but right now, the agony was almost unbearable. Pearl gave him a panicked look, but he was in too much pain to reassure her.

The sound of voices and heavy footfalls—a lot of them—trickled in from outside the lavish room, and every single person in the room froze. Elohssa grabbed Blaine's hair and dragged him out into the backyard, Amma dragging Pearl behind her. In her arms, Pearl carried Kurt, unwilling to leave him behind with the desperate Cailean, Muunokhoi, and Lola. She refused to go quietly, however, as she left a trail of skin across the backyard.

Then Elohssa pressed Pearl's gun into Blaine's hands. For a brief second, Blaine thought he was free. Then he saw Amma holding a stiletto blade to his mother's throat.

"You have a choice here, Blaine," Elohssa said lazily as she stood behind the ever-weakening teenager. "You can either shoot your mother, or you can let Amma kill your boyfriend," she forced Blaine to aim at the young woman by putting the two prongs of her stun gun on the tire iron. The sharp, searing pain, however, was not enough to get him to actually pull the trigger.

"Blaine," Pearl's voice was surprisingly strong, "just do it." Her eyes bored into his, willing him to understand. They moved from his face to his gun to Amma.

"Amma, tell me, what is the one thing a mother wants for her child?" Pearl asked the utterly horrified woman.

"I…I wanted my son to be happy," Amma said automatically.

Pearl turned to Elohssa. "Are you happy?" she asked softly. Her eyes flickered to Blaine, her gun, and back to Elohssa. She nodded almost imperceptibly. "That's the only thing a mother wants for her child."

"She's dead, and I don't have any part of her left, thanks to you," Elohssa stared at Pearl's lipstick. It was pink and smelled like roses. Her mother loved red roses.

"I'm sorry," Pearl said sincerely. "I took away the last piece of your mother than you could physically hold. Are you really willing to force someone else to suffer that same fate, and worse?"

Elohssa found herself tearing up against her will, and wiped them away viciously. She was much too vulnerable, and Pearl believed too much in people, and this backfired in both their faces spectacularly. "Shut up!" Elohssa shrieked, losing all control. She used the stun gun on Blaine over and over again. Each shock racked him with pain from head to toe before it faded, leaving him convulsing and retching on the ground, feeling like someone had poured hot oil on his body.

"Stop!" Pearl screamed. Amma looked utterly horrified as she dropped Kurt and ran back to the house. Pearl was glad her profile on Amma had panned out, but Elohssa looked like she wasn't ever going to stop. "Blaine!" it was his call to arms. He had this one chance, and he dropped like a stone. The tire iron was pushed deeper, tearing through flesh. The pain was excruciating, but he fired at Elohssa. She didn't even scream before she toppled over him, dead. He tried to convince himself that it was just his mother's hair brushing across his face.

Pearl pushed the body off Blaine and reached for her son's hand, but he quickly withdrew. "Kurt," he gasped. "See if he's breathing," he tried to bring the world to focus.

Pearl touched Kurt and nodded an affirmative as she untied her son. He staggered to his feet, gritting his teeth against the pain skyrocketing through his body. He and Pearl picked Kurt up, heading back to where Elohssa used to live. She lived no more, but the Andersons and Azimios were not likely to give up easily, and the Lima Police were not likely to send enough competent officers.

Blaine leaned against the wall, using it as a brace. He saw the open and freely bleeding wound on Pearl's head. "Mother, they-" tears sprung to his eyes as he reached shaky fingers out to touch it. "I'm so sorry," he sobbed.

"Don't be. Look, here come the EMTs," Pearl said, steadying him as he stood up and moaned under his breath, still holding onto Kurt.

Every silky shoulder-length strand of Varda's black hair in place, but her shiny brown eyes were troubled. "There's not enough room on the two ambulances we brought," she said.

Pearl gasped. She knew the Andersons and Azimios wouldn't go down without a fight. "Who?" she asked.

Varda looked pained. She despised violence of any kind, no matter how deserving. "Reid lost his temper on a woman when she used her stun gun on Hotch."

Pearl relaxed a little as she pushed her son toward the ambulance. He twisted out of her grasp.

"Mother, you should go," he said after a pain-racked sigh.

Pearl leaned closer. "Blaine, Kurt needs you more than he needs me right now. Can you be strong for him?" _Can you not watch Varda heal me with magic?_

Blaine nodded wearily and let the EMTs take him away.

* * *

><p><em>-Peeks out- Please don't kill me? I swear that the worst part of this story is over. I won't be torturing Blaine anymore. The next chapter's going to be sweet, sweet fluff and maybe some Nude Erections humor to make up for the utter horror that this became.<em>

_You can send your therapy bills to Pearl. I'm sure she won't mind._


	18. Blue Does

_Words cannot express how happy I am that stupidamericanidioms91 and 256 have stuck with this story. Also, I won't be updating for a **seriously **long time because I'm going on my honeymoon tomorrow! That's right, I'm going to Waikiki!_

_No, I'm not. I'm going to Chicago to meet my parents-in-law for the first time since the last two words were added to their titles. -gulp-_

_In case you guys are wondering why Pearl didn't have Varda heal Blaine and Kurt too, it's because Blaine is definitely conscious enough to freak out, and he's been stressed enough, don't you think? Besides, they'd have to be alone, without the rest of the EMTs, for Varda to not be experimented on by the FBI. Not to mention that Varda can only heal what she can physically see and touch, which does not include Blaine's organs._

_FYI, when I say a person sings a song and only put in a few lyrics, assume that the person sings the entire song. I'm just too lazy to type lyrics unless there's actually an arrangement for them._

_Disclaimer: I don't own "Blue Does" by Blue October. I did change the lyrics a little bit; you'll see why._

* * *

><p>Chapter XVIII: Blue Does<p>

This empty room was not what she had had in mind when she envisioned waiting for her children to wake up. Never mind that all the broken bones had been set after Varda gave Pearl an x-ray. Never mind that all the open wounds had been sealed and healed, leaving no trace of a scar. Never mind that the only reason Pearl was still wearing the cast and the gauze was to keep up appearances (and get rid of the scars and other signs that her body had ever been so badly damaged in the first place: CIPA could really take a toll on a girl if she didn't pay attention). Right now, Pearl wanted to tear down the doors to the room where Blaine and Kurt were being operated on and make sure with her own eyes that they were okay.

"Where the HELL is my son?" Burt demanded as he ran in, Carole and Finn having been left almost a floor behind.

Or possibly run in the other direction…which would still be the operating room.

"I don't have any more information than you," Pearl suddenly felt incredibly tired. She knew Varda had checked for brain damage and fixed what little there was (Pearl was a lot less fragile than humans, after all) but she still felt like she had just been dragged here from Denver, wherever the hell that was.

"What the hell were you doing in there, if you couldn't protect both of them?" Burt pressed aggressively.

Pearl rubbed her temple, trying and failing to not snap at him. "Look, Mr. Hummel, Kurt and I were both worked over with a tire iron at least once. The fact that I could-" she reminded herself that he was only worried about his son, like she was. "I'm sure he'll be fine," she said reassuringly.

Burt took off his hat and sat down. "Are you sure you should be walking around?" he asked her in a shaky voice.

She smiled as serenely as she knew how. "He will be fine, Mr. Hummel," she said.

"Call me Burt," Burt offered his hand. Pearl shook it and both waited for Aimi to exit the boys' room and give them the prognosis.

They didn't have to wait long; she came out the moment Carole and Finn entered.

"Mr. and Mrs. Hummel?" she inquired. Carole and Burt stood up.

"Yes," Carole answered in a breathless voice.

"Your son, Kurt, is doing very well. The surgery to relieve pressure from his head was very successful, and he's on heavy pain medication from the surgery."

"While you talk to them, can I see my son's chart?" Pearl held out her hand impatiently, not taking No for an answer.

Aimi sighed and gave her the second folder in her hands. She continued to flip through Kurt's file. "His vitals are good, and his MRI registered no long-term damage whatsoever. I would say that he'll be awake by tomorrow and you can take him home in three days' time. We're transferring both boys to the ICU now."

Pearl frowned when she saw the signature at the end of Blaine's file. "Aimi, do you run this department now?"

Aimi smiled mischievously. "When people see my name, they want to donate money. The hospital saw promoting me as the means to an end we both want."

Pearl frowned. "What happened to the doctor you replaced?"

Aimi waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, you mean the idiot who refused to see Blaine at first? He was fired for having missed so many signs."

Pearl shrugged. "He was a good doctor. He just liked his money more than he liked his patients' health."

Aimi grew sober. "It's not like this job pays a lot for all the stress you have to go through. He just didn't want to add to it."

Pearl shook her head. "At least it's over now," she said.

Aimi snorted. "It's never over, Pearl. This boy is going to be living with the consequences of what the Andersons and everyone else did to him for the rest of his life. Not to mention what he had to go through today."

Pearl looked like she was about to cry. "I was supposed to keep him safe!"

Aimi hit Pearl across the face with the two folders. "Stop it with the self-pity. He needs you, and Kurt needs you too. You know what they went through; you have to be the adult they can turn to for this."

Pearl smiled a little through her tears. "This is why I fell in love with you; we were never afraid to hurt each other's feelings."

Aimi shook her head. "Give it up, okay? The boys have been asking for you."

Pearl's legs gave out. "They're awake?"

Aimi caught Pearl and their bodies were pressed together. A little burst of heat went through both of them. But it was more painful than pleasurable, and this time Pearl let go first.

"Look, maybe you should go in too. I mean, we set up three beds before we realized Lola Anderson would be recovering in the local county prison hospital," Aimi said. "You look like you should lie down."

Pearl walked past Aimi without a second glance. Her body was stiff and moving it felt odd, but it was easier than it had been a few minutes ago to leave Aimi alone. She sat down next to her son and took Blaine's hand. The boy looked at her. Shame for what everyone had gone through on his behalf compounded with the horror of what he had endured finally hit him and he started to shake, eyes welling. He wanted to wait until Pearl was asleep, but the quiet tears refused to obey.

Pearl watched him cry, huge tears made all the more poignant by the silence with which they fell. _He always cries like that,_ she realized, _like a statue._ "You cry wrong," she said bluntly. "When you cry, people are supposed to hear you and pay attention to your pain. The world should stop and wait for you."

Blaine looked at his mother oddly. He wasn't used to her using this tone of voice with him, and she immediately softened her tone. "Blaine, I know that in the past, crying about your pain got you punished, but I want you to know right now that that's not the case anymore. Now, Kurt and I are willing to help you through this."

Blaine sniffed. "How?" he wiped his eyes. "You two have been through enough because of me. Kurt's not even conscious yet, and it's all my fault." His sobs grew faster and more intense, until he was almost hyperventilating.

"No, it wasn't," Pearl said, brushing a few tangled curls off his forehead. "You couldn't stop them from doing what they did to Kurt and me than you could have stopped them from doing what they did to you."

Blaine withdrew from her. "They shouldn't have done anything to you or Kurt. I should have been there alone."

"You were. Kurt and I went in to find you because I was an idiot and should've thought of a better plan than 'Kurt, shoot people.' I should have left him outside." Pearl rubbed her forehead.

Blaine looked at her in shock. "You think that this was your fault," he said slowly.

Pearl nodded, eyes downcast and wet. She snorted. "I know it's not. Intellectually, I blame the Andersons, the Azimios, Elohssa, and Mary. But when you're a parent, everything changes. All those logical rules go out the window because you blame yourself for everything that happens to your kids."

Blaine looked at Kurt, not knowing how to feel or how to deal.

"Think of it this way, Blaine; you have people willing to put themselves in danger for you, not because they feel like they have to or they owe you, but because they love you. I'll be trying to remember it just as hard as you will."

That was what this feeling was. He felt loved. He felt protected. And remembering that would be how he would deal with it.

Pearl saw this epiphany in his face and began to sing, reaching over to give him a small grey elephant.

_Blaine does everything I've never seen before._  
><em>Blaine does everything I've never seen before.<em>

_He's the answer to the prayer I hadn't found._  
><em>He's the answer to the silence; he's my sound.<em>  
><em>Oh what a boy, oh what a beautiful boy he is.<em>

Blaine looked at her hand and emitted an odd laugh. "What?" she asked, pretending to be offended.

Blaine continued his sob-laugh. "You're covered in so many bandages! You look like a snow person!"

Pearl looked at the bandages, which she only wore to keep up appearances and eliminate scarring, and turned to Blaine. "Well, you look like you're pregnant," she pointed, sticking out her tongue. Blaine looked down at his stomach. The doctors had had to do some surgery on him as well, repairing the damage from the tire iron, and his abdominal area was covered with bandages. There was indeed a baby bump under the blankets. He found the sobs subsiding and the laughter relaxing him. Whether their laughter was from how they both looked or the need to release some of the pain, well that was unclear, but they laughed, and that was all that mattered.

Kurt was roused by the sound of their laughter, and he fixed them with an irritated look. "What's so funny?"

"I look like I'm made of snow," Pearl laughed. She showed he bandages them to Kurt, who giggled as well.

"And I'm having twins," Blaine said, touching the bandages on his stomach. Kurt laughed out loud now.

The boys stopped laughing as they looked at each other.

"What happened?" Kurt asked, voice and face panicked. "Why are we in the hospital? What's going on?"

"You don't remember? We went into-" Pearl stopped talking. The less everyone remembered of the horror, the better. But she learned this too late.

"Oh my Gaga," Kurt made hasty swipes at his eyes with his fingers. "You were being electrocuted, Blaine! There was a metal rod sticking out of you! And I think someone was shot!" he began to hyperventilate.

Blaine pulled Kurt close and put a finger on the countertenor's lips. He kissed the cuts and bruises the Andersons had put on Kurt, making promises between each kiss. The tender scene grew more and more heated until Pearl coughed uncomfortably. The boys broke apart, identical guilty looks on their faces, and Pearl laughed again.

"Aimi's leading Burt in to see Kurt, so I suggest you guys act like prudes."

Burt, Carole and Finn came to dote over Kurt like the princess he had always wanted to be, and Pearl fed Blaine some jello, observing normal family interactions like her life depended on it.

* * *

><p>"Guys, I have the perfect song for Regionals," Mercedes said, raising her hand. She was ignored because Rachel moved in front of the crowd and broke into a spirited rendition of "I Will Possess Your Heart." Mercedes leaned back and sighed.<p>

Sam rubbed her shoulders, and she smiled at him. "Thanks," she said honestly.

"So, um, what's your song," he asked.

Mercedes' smile grew wider. "I think Blaine should sing 'According to You' by Orianthi. Everybody thought he was worthless, but now he's got people who think he's everything to them."

Sam looked at her thoughtfully for a second before interrupting. "Hey, guys, Mercedes has something to say."

Will nodded for Mercedes to take center stage. Rachel sat back down with a huff, but Puck hugged her and she relaxed a little.

Mercedes couldn't believe someone had just handed her the floor. She looked at Sam, who was smiling at her and giving her a thumbs-up. She looked at Brittany and Santana making out, and Sam shook Brittany a little, so they all looked at her. Clearing her throat, she began her proposal.

* * *

><p>"I should've followed you," Finn blamed himself.<p>

"I should've answered the phone," Burt blamed himself.

"I should've noticed when neither of you came home," Carole blamed herself.

"Please, don't do this," Pearl sat up, wincing when she realized how stiff she had become. "If you guys blame yourselves, you'll make yourselves miserable, and the boys will think this is their fault. These two boys are very responsible, which is good, but it means that they take the blame for things they don't have to."

Carole turned to her, an angry look on her face. "Miss Rush, I understand that you're very new to motherhood and that you've been picking heads before any of us Ohioans knew what it was, but you absolutely cannot expect either of us to be able to put aside one job to understand the other. If you don't blame yourself, you are an ice-hearted mother and I am taking Blaine home with me this instant, Burt's boundaries be damned!" she pointed a shaking finger to Pearl.

"Wait, you're what now?" Burt looked at her.

Pearl didn't look away. "What you consider ice-hearted, I consider pragmatic, and that's my problem, not yours. Look, I never said I didn't blame myself, but I've never said that I did blame myself either, because it only draws attention to me that would better be paid to my son, and yours."

Carole had the decency to look ashamed, and Pearl softened her tone. "Make sure you don't spend too much energy on self-pity. These boys need it more," she gestured with her chin.

Carole hugged her son (and he was her son too). Finn, sobbing, hugged his mother, and Burt's arms enveloped them all. Blaine looked at Kurt's contented face, glad that he had such a loving family, but a little wistful too. He missed the creaking of the bed next to him until Pearl had wrapped her arms around his chest, careful of his bandages and bruises. Kurt reached out for Blaine, and the two families stayed this way for quite some time.

* * *

><p><em>Next time, we go to Regionals, and it will either be the last or second-to-last chapter. I hate myself for even saying this, but there will be a sequel to this too. I'm known for taking an idea and running with it for several <strong>years<strong>, so we're not saying goodbye to Lima (or the BAU) just yet._

_Like? Dislike? Review!_


	19. According to You

_I'm back, and it was amazing! 256, stupidamericanidioms91, OhMyGlee55, and klainediva, your support for the last chapter was inspiring and definitely appreciated. B=2nd letter of the alphabet, E=5th letter, F=6th letter. StupidAmericanIdioms. "Dani Kivela" is an anagram for "klainediva." Yup, I'm giving every reviewer a character. How often you've reviewed is going to be how much of a role your character plays. The reviewers/characters I've already mentioned are going to make their first appearances either in this chapter or the next one. You can PM me more info about yourself (256 and klainediva, are you guys or gals?) and what you'd like to do in the story or if you don't want to be in it._

_JosephineJellybean and OhMyGlee55, I'm so glad for your suggestions! Please keep them coming! And OhMyGlee55, the reason I can't kill either of the Andersons yet is because they have to help Pearl bust a slave-trading ring. Only they know who they bought Blaine from. Diana let Sue get plastic surgery and look like her so she wouldn't resemble her mug shot after the murder Sue committed. (Jane Lynch plays Reid's mother in "Criminal Minds" and Sue Sylvester in "Glee.")_

_Also, why did I say I was going to Chicago? I was going to Boston. Guess who has StarKid on the brain? Anyway, as requested, some more Criminal Minds interaction. I hope I did their characters justice. I completely cut out the legal stuff except for closing statements because all the detail that has to go into getting it accurate is just too energy-consuming. There's a reason I'm not in Mock Trial anymore._

__Disclaimer: I don't own "According to You," which I also changed a little bit. I can't imagine Blaine "in a dress."__

* * *

><p>Chapter XIX: According to You<p>

Detectives Sai and Bef were just about as tired of the Lima Police as people could be. The fact that they were the only people sent to assist the BAU with something as serious as abduction was simply inexcusable. Still, today they had to deal with the fallout of the (previous) chief's decision.

"Which one of you fired the shot?" Det. Bef asked.

Pearl raised herself off the bed before Blaine could even register the detective's words. Once he did, he stared at her in shock.

Det. Bef frowned. "Ms. Amma Azimio said it was a boy."

Barely half a second later, Pearl rolled her eyes. "You're going to take a known criminal's word over that of a decorated fellow officer of the law?" she asked skeptically.

Det. Bef looked at Det. Sai, who shrugged and walked forward. "Pearl Dulcibella Cyanne Love Azalea Cyanne…wait, what?" the detective looked confusedly at the young mother and muttered, "Whatever, you with the face, you are under arrest for the murder of Elohssa Latot. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?"

"Yes," Pearl yawned.

"Can we put her anywhere besides the holding cell? Everyone we arrested yesterday is there," Det. Sai looked at Det. Bef, biting her lip.

Hearing this, Blaine began to panic. "Mother, please don't do this," he begged.

"Oh, don't worry. The worst thing I might do is trip. I just wish one of these detectives had a video camera; seeing your mother fall on her ass is hilarious and something you don't want to miss. I know from experience," Pearl frowned at the offending handcuffs. "These things really throw your balance off."

Put at ease, Blaine laughed. He wasn't laughing later that night when one of Pearl was rushed past his room to the ER, a broken rib having pierced her lung. Seeing your mother asphyxiating on her own blood is not hilarious and something you definitely want to miss. Blaine knew from experience.

* * *

><p>Lauren's eyes darted around even though she knew that the alley she occupied was empty this time of night, along with most of Lima. There were two people she had to dispose of. She had them wrapped in Velcro-sealed tarp, and now her father helped her undo the Velcro to let them slide down into the dumpster.<p>

He didn't know that Hummel's Tires and Lube had security cameras. She made sure to steal those on her way out. She wasn't in the AV Club for nothing.

* * *

><p>"Pearl Rush went back to the house she had been tortured in with a fully loaded semiautomatic," Sawyer said, slicking back his hair more. It was worse than Blaine's at this point, and that was saying something. "She believed these people had been abusing her adopted son, and she decided to take revenge the most permanent way she knew how. And so an innocent woman died after the authorities arrived. Make sure she does not die in vain. Make sure she gets justice."<p>

Cabot stood up and walked to the jury. "Elohssa Latot tortured Pearl Rush for hours with a stun gun and sent the footage to her son to lure him over. She then proceeded to torture him. Pearl knew full well she was entering a house with five violent people inside, and only after everyone, including to a few of the four members of law enforcement, had suffered multiple injuries did she finally fire her gun. As far as I'm concerned, the fact that Pearl waited to until her son had been raped with a tire iron to shoot someone should be the reason she's on trial right now." She began to walk back to the prosecutor's table before doing a double-take and taking her actual position on the defense half of the courtroom, looking deeply uncomfortable. Aimi squeezed her hand reassuringly over the wooden back of Cabot's seat and Cabot squeezed back. Pearl looked away, not because she wanted Aimi but because she wasn't wanted herself.

She would forget about it soon. The jury took only half an hour before declaring her not guilty. They did not, however, take that long to sentence all five of her kidnappers to thirty years in prison and a $46,300 fine.

* * *

><p>Usually, after solving a case, the BAU was in a celebratory mood. This time, however, the subdued joy couldn't be attributed to the fact that last time, Morgan and Rossi took everyone to a bar and nearly everyone ended up with the worst hangovers of their lives.<p>

"Do you plan to sleep at any point today?" Morgan asked Reid playfully.

Reid shrugged, playing with his pen in uncharacteristic silence that stretched so long, it was clear something was wrong. "I thought he was going to kill me," he said quietly. Nearby, Prentiss closed her folder so she could pay better attention. "Tobias Henkel said that he was going to kill me so many times, I really believed it."

"Yeah, but Reid, he didn't," Morgan said. "Focusing on what-ifs only add stress and doesn't do anything productive."

"That doesn't matter," Reid replied. "The point is, for hours, I had no idea what was going to happen. I thought I was going to go insane. I **did** go insane; I started using Dilaudid." There, his secret was out, although the faces of Prentiss and Morgan didn't change at all. Clearly, it wasn't as much of a secret as he thought. "If Pearl wasn't there, I think I would still be on it. She took the brunt of the torture for me and I still ended up almost losing my life."

"What are you trying to say, man?" Morgan asked, leaning back into his chair. It groaned, and he sat back up quickly. Damn, he had to get some new office furniture.

"I'm saying: Blaine had nobody. How does somebody survive that without going crazy?" Reid asked.

"I'm worried for the people around him. His life was one blow after another, and now his whole world's been flipped upside-down. You don't go through that without some kind of reaction," Rossi said, having heard the conversation as he locked up his office. He walked down the steps to the Prentiss' desk on his way out before he turned back. "Hotch mentioned something about a slave named Blaine. Are you talking about him?" When Reid nodded, Rossi looked thoughtful. "What are the chances that he's the only kid in Ohio? Sure, maybe the Andersons only bought him, but what about his previous owner, or owners even?"

Reid and Morgan looked at each other. In the midst of the mess that was their jobs, they hadn't even thought about that.

Morgan cleared his throat. "So, where do we start looking for this guy?"

* * *

><p>David, Wes, and Thad's rendition of "Perfect" (this time the clean version) lacked the magic of the first three, but still brought tears to Blaine's eyes, tears that only multiplied when he realized the Warblers had lost Regionals to the New Directions and that his rendition of "According to You" was the song that cinched ND's victory. The high of single-handedly winning didn't wear off until he stood backstage and realized his mother would be alone in the audience, again. She had had most of the New Directions' parents during Regionals, since it was a bigger deal than Sectionals, but few parents could afford to travel to New York to help Mr. Schuester babysit.<p>

"Has anyone ever actually, like, literally died onstage?" Blaine asked, paralyzed as Kurt walked up behind him.

"Nervous, are we?" Kurt asked.

"Please don't judge me," Blaine pleaded. "I'm just afraid that I'm going to go out there and disappoint my mother, or I'll start singing and she'll be kidnapped again." He looked at Kurt's amused face. "Okay, you can judge me."

"I think it's adorable," Kurt replied cheekily. "I think **you're **adorable. And the only people who are going to be dying tonight are the people in the audience, except for your mother, of course."

Blaine kissed Kurt and they walked out, hand-in-hand.

"And now, from McKinley High School, the New Directions!"

Blaine took a deep breath and looked into the audience. He found the blinking red light of Carole's video camera, streaming it live to the laptop in Pearl's hospital room. He was no longer worried. Kurt moved from stage right to center stage, singing with the spotlight trained squarely on him, his face toward the audience. The New Directions vocalized the instrumental part behind him.

_According to you, I'm stupid, I'm useless, I can't do anything right.  
><em>_According to you, I'm difficult, hard to please, forever changing my mind._

Blaine looked at Kurt was he sang to the boy he loved.

_It's a mess, how I dress, can't show up on time, even if it would save my life.  
><em>_According to you, according to you._

The stands behind the boys lit up and revealed the New Directions, who turned around and began moving to their positions on the stands, each of them thinking of their own parents, whom they all purported to hate but now missed.

_But according to him, I'm beautiful, incredible, he can't get me out of his head.  
><em>_According to him, I'm funny irresistible, everything he ever wanted.  
><em>_Everything is opposite, I don't feel like stopping it. __So why not tell me what I've got to lose?  
><em>_He's into me for everything I'm not, according to you._

Kurt backed into the New Directions and bowed his head with them, leaving Blaine in front, singing his heart out.

_According to you, I'm boring, I'm moody, and you can't take me anyplace.  
><em>_According to you, I suck at telling jokes, 'cause I always give them away._

Kurt took Blaine's place and continued to sing.

_I'm a boy with the worst attention span; you're the boy who put up with that.  
><em>_According to you, according to you._

Everyone sang the chorus again before falling completely silent until Blaine could sing in front of everyone alone.

_I need to feel appreciated, that I'm not hated, oh no.  
><em>_Why can't you see me through his eyes? It's too bad you're making me decide._

Blaine shut up and let Kurt sing the final line of the bridge alone.

_According to me, you're stupid, you're useless, you can't do anything right._

Everyone repeated the chorus before nodding for the audience to repeat the first verse. By the end, everyone not waving their cell phones in the air were wiping tears from their eyes.

* * *

><p>Reid, exhausted from travel, had to ride home with Hotch. Rossi, Prentiss, Morgan, and JJ were left to find clues with their favorite tech analyst. "Garcia, you're good at figuring out if someone falls off the grid, right?" JJ asked.<p>

"Oh, I'm the best," Garcia said without a trace of irony.

"So could you find someone who mysterious appeared on the grid, say, fourteen or thirteen years ago as a three- or two-year-old boy?" Prentiss asked.

"Um, what grid do you want me to look in?" Garcia needed clarification.

"What do you mean?" Rossi asked, utterly baffled by technology.

"An Alabama county? An Alaskan county? I need to have it be specific," Garcia explained. The four agents looked at each other.

"We have no clue," JJ sighed reluctantly.

"We're going to have to wait for another slave to come forward," Morgan shook his head. "Man, this is going to kill Reid."

Rossi shrugged. "Life kills people; what a revelation," he muttered as he left Garcia's office to head home.

* * *

><p>Burt sighed as if syrup were a life-saving drug instead of the deathly poison Kurt was making it out to be.<p>

"I just don't want you to have another heart attack, Dad," Kurt said earnestly. "I can't cook right now—stupid doctors think **I** have to 'take things easy?'—but I can still make sure you're eating right."

Burt nodded, more in an effort to make his son less agitated. He didn't want to stress his son out anymore than his son didn't want him to be stressed out. "Look, I have to go to the shop today, okay, but I'll be back as soon as I can get one of the other guys to take over. They're pretty good about this thing; they all have kids."

Kurt nodded his consent. But Burt didn't return to Kurt's bedside that night.

In fact, he never returned again. It turns out that finding the corpse of Roger Smith and an unknown female in your dumpster can trigger a heart attack more massive than all the syrup in the world.

* * *

><p>Just past midnight, Spencer Reid's cell phone woke him. A look at the screen said it was Hotch. Typical Hotch, never sleeping "Hello?" he yawned.<p>

"He's returned," said the BAU veteran.

"Who?" Reid was almost too groggy to care.

"The Buttonwillow Butcher."

_Those three words are better than coffee_, Reid thought as he drove faster than he believed possible.

* * *

><p>If Lauren gripped her hair any harder, she would pull it out by the roots. Why did she care that her father wanted to start his mission here? It wasn't like she cared about any of the people he wanted to take. Besides, they deserved it for being who they were. Prostitution demeaned women. Homelessness was for lazy people. Abortion was murder. She and her father only ate local food, although she had lately taken to cheating. The candy Rachel got her in exchange for putting microphones in the choir room was made in New York. It had been her first rebellion against Sam Zizes, and nothing terrible had happened as a result. Maybe disobeying her father wouldn't bring the apocalyptic results he had taught her to fear.<p>

* * *

><p>"Feels just like yesterday, doesn't it?" Rossi asked Hotch. They had both worked on the original Buttonwillow Butcher case, and this was a walk down memory lane for the both of them.<p>

"More or less," Hotch shrugged. Both men did a double-take when they saw the photos of the crime scene. "Who's the dead man on the ground?"

* * *

><p><em>Yes, a cliffhanger. I am evil. Next time, we discuss the MO of the Buttonwillow Butcher, Blaine shows just how little faith he still has in humanity, and Burt will either have died or end up having another heart attack.<em>


	20. Too Little, Too Late

_Yup, this is the end. I want to thank everyone who reviewed, especially stupidamericanidioms91 (Briana Sai), 256 (Adla Bef), klainediva (Dani Kelvia), and OhMyGlee55 because you guys are the most incredible and encouraging people in the world. Squee!_

_I know I identified Roger Smith last chapter, but he's not somebody important, (I would have called him John Smith, except I hate the historical figure, so I didn't) so you don't have to remember the name._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the song "Too Little, Too Late" by JoJo. And it really is too little, too late for hundreds of victims._

* * *

><p><em>It's just too little, too late,Too little, too wrong. <em>

Chapter XX: Too Little, Too Late

Detective Briana Sai had been a member of the Glee Club when she was younger, along with Bryan Ryan and William Schuester. Honestly, like Bryan had said once, she expected so many good things from life, only to be disappointed by being stuck struggling making ends meet at the Lima Police Department.

Today, she would become a star. She just didn't know it yet.

* * *

><p>"There's no way that I'm going to let this go," Carole said, moving as smoothly as she could, which was not very smoothly at all. She tossed Finn's folded shirt into his pile with unnecessary force.<p>

"There's nothing you can really do," Pearl said, digging around the laundry to find the sock that matched the one she already had in her hand. "It's past and it's over."

Carole looked at Pearl oddly. "How do you do this?" she asked. "How can you be so calm about this? You and your son were basically stripped and beaten to within an inch of your lives."

Pearl let out a perverted laugh. Carole felt something in the atmosphere of the room change a little, and whatever her expression was, it made Pearl's soften.

"Remember at the trial when Sawyer put up pictures of me after five months with Goerhing?" Pearl asked.

"It made you realize you could live through this?" Carole was skeptical.

Pearl smiled, knowing Carole understood. "No, it made me fight harder, because I couldn't stand the thought of my son going through that, too. The fight isn't over; whatever progress I've made with Blaine has basically gone away. But he trusts me, and he expects things of me now, so I plan to live up to those expectations and that trust," she stopped, realizing what Carole didn't want to say. "Kurt…he's always trusted you guys. Don't worry, that won't go away because of a single bad experience."

Carole shook her head. "I don't know how you do it. If I had been you in the courtroom, I would have taken out my gun and shot the defendants, or maybe beaten them a few times, and then come after Kurt with a pitchfork. Although, if you do come after Kurt with a pitchfork, you won't be able to catch him and I will have to steal your gun and shoot you."

Pearl let out her first genuine laugh as the women continued folding laundry. "Thank you for letting Blaine sleep over. He's so much more relaxed with Kurt nearby. He never has nightmares in your house, I've noticed." The "only in mine" went unspoken but not unsaid. Both women grew pensive until Finn kicked something in the bedroom upstairs and the thump made Pearl grew still for a moment. She closed her eyes, as if to gather herself together, and smiled at Carole. "Shall we surprise the boys?"

Carole's smile was far less fake and bright. "I'll go make coffee. You can grab some ice from the freezer. Finn tackles hard though," she warned.

Pearl's grin was almost feral. "Bring it," she looked glad for a challenge as she charged toward the kitchen.

Carole turned back into the house. She was just getting ready to measure out the beans for the coffee when the black SUV pulled up in front of her house. Suspicious, she put the beans back in the cupboard and grabbed her butcher knife. Screw Pearl's gun. Mama Hudson only needed her own weapons to defend her boys.

The two women who exited the police cruiser looked grim, but the knock was polite, so Carole opened the door. "Hello?" she greeted them warily.

"We're looking for SSA Pearl Rush," said Det. Bef.

"Why?" she asked, deciding she didn't feel threatened by her.

The next words out of his mouth made her wonder if perhaps she had misjudged the safety and sanity of being around these woman.

"There've been over a hundred murders."

"And one of the people who found them has just died," Det. Sai added guiltily.

Carole didn't realize she had collapsed until she felt the linoleum against her cheeks.

* * *

><p>The neighbors often wondered if John and Scott Berry had gone deaf yet from all the singing that Rachel did on a minutely basis. At the moment, she was belting out some old love song, and the neighbors were relieved when she stopped screeching the high notes. Unfortunately, their relief lasted only moments until Rachel screamed something about the mother of someone named Blake.<p>

* * *

><p>"Kurt!" Kurt's younger brother was insistently shaking him awake.<p>

"Finn, do you know what inadequate sleep does to your skin?" Kurt muttered.

"It's Burt," Finn said.

_Those two words are better than coffee,_ Kurt thought as he jumped out of bed and dressed. "What happened?" he demanded, voice shrill.

"He found two dead people in the dumpsters outside his shop. The media's there," Finn sounded hysterical. From upstairs, Kurt could hear Carole turn the TV volume up as high as it could go.

"It appears that, after ten years, the Buttonwillow Butcher is back in action, this time with two victims. Hello everyone, and welcome to Good Morning, Lima. I'm here outside Hummel's Tires and Lube, where the bodies of 26-year-old Roger Smith and an unidentified woman have been found in the dumpster have just been found with the word "cleaned" carved on their chests. Many of us remember the 2004 discovery of a mass grave in Buttonwillow, Indiana."

The program cut away to a 911 call. "Hello? Operator? I just found a really weird-looking dead girl, and I think there's another dead person who's been here longer. Almost all the skin's gone." Kurt shuddered. The babyish, tinkling soprano belonged to blond curls and lollipops, not gruesome descriptions of cadavers.

"The Buttonwillow Butcher is known for taking the transplantable tissue and blood of his victims for profitable sale or personal use, and carving the word 'cleaned' on his victims' bodies. The FBI has been notified but has not yet commented on whether they believe the Butcher has resurfaced. Reporting live from Hummel's Tires and-"

Kurt felt all-too familiar darkness replace his vision. Blaine caught him and anxiously looked at his mother, as if hoping she could magically fix this.

Pearl and Det. Bef stared at his prone body, both forgetting about Carole until she started to stir.

"I'll go to the coroner's office, see if they have anything," Det. Sai muttered as she left Det. Bef and Pearl to deal with the fallout.

Burt opened the door for her to leave and picked his son up to put him on the couch. There was absolutely nothing he could do now but hope for the best for his employee's family.

* * *

><p>Puck woke up around the crack of lunch, only to realize that Lauren had left during the night, morning, or noon. He cursed and got up anyway. Where the hell was that girl disappearing to every day? Was she getting some on the side? Puck thought about it for a few seconds and realized that neither of them were the kind to commit to a relationship for very long. He was always too horny, and she was always too…distant, mistrustful. He wondered why.<p>

* * *

><p>Detective Adla Bef was prepared for a lot of surprising and gruesome things since she had been promoted to homicide. But in a small town of only five cops, she had never believed that she would see anything close to this.<p>

"All his organs were removed?" she asked the only coroner in Allen County.

"Just about all the vital ones: kidneys, liver, heart, pancreas. His eyes and most of his blood are gone too," said Dr. Dani Kivela. "It's the same thing with the woman."

"I'm guessing you don't deal with murder a lot, huh," Det. Bef was sympathetic.

"No, ma'am," Dr. Kivela looked very green.

Det. Bef looked at the bodies. When she had entered the information about Lima's first murder in five years into VICAP, she had found more than a hundred similar murders. "What would you say carved this into the body?" she asked, pointing to the man's chest.

"Something sharp," Dr. Kivela shrugged. "Sorry, ma'am. I don't know much about murder weapons."

Det. Bef sighed. "I'll read up on the Buttonwillow Butcher a bit more deeply. I don't want to sound like a total idiot next to the Feds."

When she left, the coroner took a look at the woman's chest again. CLEANED it said in crooked cuts. Dr. Kivela shivered. Something about this case just didn't feel right.

* * *

><p>"Who's Blaine?" John Berry asked his daughter.<p>

"Blaine Rush, formerly Blaine Anderson," Rachel responded. "He's in the Glee Club with me. He's dating Kurt."

"Oh, the guy who was just kidnapped, right?" Scott Berry shuddered.

Rachel nodded. "And enslaved," she added, because that story had not been all over the news to the point where people were starting to protest that the Andersons receive the death penalty for trading in flesh.

"So, the little girl in the phone call is his current mother?" John asked over a breakfast of yogurt and eggs.

Rachel nodded. "I have perfect pitch. Pearl Rush has a high pitch with a warm timbre, just like the girl in the 911 call."

"That's probably why she ended up working for the FBI," Scott commented. "I mean, finding a mass grave of over a hundred bodies when you're just fourteen? If I were her, I'd do anything to make sure nobody has to go through that again."

"And if I were the killer, I'd try to kill her for finding my dumping ground," John said as he dug into Scott's scrambled eggs.

"Hey!" Scott pushed his boyfriend playfully away from his plate.

Rachel bit her lip as she watched the news program. If she was right—and Rachel Berry was never wrong—then Kurt and Blaine were in definite danger from being around Pearl. The fact that Pearl worked a high-profile law enforcement job wouldn't help matters.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure this is the same killer?" JJ asked Det. Bef. "It looks like the word carved on the female was done by a different hand than the word carved on the male." Even her untrained eye could spot the clean cuts on the man's body and the uneven cuts on the woman's<p>

"Not to mention that the organs were removed very crudely from her body," said Rossi as he read the coroner's report. "Why were we even called in?"

"I think you're looking for a classic copycat," Prentiss agreed.

"This was a waste of our time," Morgan closed his files. "This person will come to you soon enough."

Det. Sai shook her head and begged, but the BAU wouldn't stay, not even to identify the two unknown bodies.

* * *

><p>Blaine wondered why the voice in the 911 call sounded so familiar. He would have asked his mother, but she hadn't paid attention to the newscast after the report that fellow inmates of Krej Etlepmoc had ripped his beard off and laughed. Then again, a double murder, a fainting woman, his nearly catatonic boyfriend, and an arrhythmatic man definitely took precedence over the television.<p>

"Kurt, I'm fine," Burt tried to reassure him. "My heart started beating faster than normal, but that nice Asian doctor, Dove or something, helped me out."

"**Swan**," Pearl snapped, defending Varda far harder than was necessary. "Her name is Varda **Swan**!" She looked around, wondering exactly why Burt had flipped out.

Burt raised his hands above his head and backed off. Pearl softened her tone when Kurt flinched. "It'll be okay, Kurt," she promised. "No one here is going to hurt you, and besides, I'm keeping my gun on me this time."

Finn snorted. "Because that did you so much good the first time?"

Pearl gave the former bully a look that made it clear exactly how many levels of crazy she was going to flip in about five seconds. However, she never got the chance. The question that had hung over her entire life was answered by, of all people, the Lima police.

* * *

><p>"Detective Sai, I'm Agent Rush. We met this morning," Pearl extended her hand politely. "Det. Bef was kind enough to drive me here," she nodded at the dark-haired detective, who nodded back.<p>

"I'm glad you're here. We need your expertise," Det. Sai led Pearl over to a room where crime scene photos were scattered all over the walls, desk, and floor.

Pearl gulped. "Oh dear god, he's back."

Det. Sai turned to her. "You know who he is?" she looked surprised.

Pearl nodded, looking at all the photos and notes Det. Sai had managed to gather. "I know I don't look old enough. I mean, I was only fourteen, but—"

Speechless, Det. Sai covered her mouth with a hand. "You're the girl who made the call! You're the girl who exposed him!"

Pearl looked almost guilty as she nodded.

Det. Sai, on the other hand, was completely overjoyed. "And you're in the FBI," she announced as if the news was Christmas, her birthday, and perhaps a promotion to Chief of Police all in one. Just as Pearl started to doubt the detective's sanity, Det. Sai looked devastated. "Please," she begged, "you have to help me. I had a team here earlier, and they all said that whoever did this was a copycat and would come to me. But you saw the original crime scene when you were fourteen. It must have been the first time you saw that kind of carnage. Tell me, don't you think that this is the same criminal?"

Pearl looked at the pictures taken outside Burt's shop that morning and froze. She let the picture flutter to the ground as she sank into a chair, tears springing to her eyes. Det. Sai picked it up and immediately moved the new mother's side. "What is it? What do you see?" she urged.

When Pearl could finally speak without sobbing, she turned shocked eyes to the detective. "The man, his name is Roger Smith."

Detective Sai had been a member of the Glee Club when she was younger, along with Bryan Ryan and William Schuester. Honestly, like Bryan had said once, she expected so many good things from life, only to be disappointed by being stuck struggling making ends meet at the Lima Police Department.

Today, she would become a star, she just knew it!

* * *

><p><em>Captain Roadkill, snape-rules44, and Fallingintothesky, thank you so much for reviewing. I hope you're still enjoying (or at least not hating) the story. Thanks to Nicky and JosephineJellyBean for your concrit. It was very helpful and I'll definitely take it to heart!<em>

_I said that the sequel would be called Sam's Town, but I lied and it'll be called Lucky Blurt instead because of the couples. (Luck=Lauren and Puck and Blurt=Blaine and Kurt, y="and" in Spanish). I'm going to try to write it like a Criminal Mind's episode, so basically all the songs in it are going to be from the show, whenever possible._


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